Mixed Emotions
by otownroxx
Summary: She was sick and tired of denying her feelings just because everyone in Stars Hollow expected her to always be with Dean. They treated her like she was fragile, like she was perfect. But she wasn't perfectno one was. RD, RJ, LL. please rr!
1. Chocolate For Breakfast?

A/N:: I had this story up last night, but when I checked my reviews today I wasn't exactly thrilled...I watch the GG, obviously, and I know where Chilton is. And I know Rory 'takes the bus'. But this IS a fanfiction site, is it not?? I am allowed to change a few things, that is why it's called fanfiction. It's not even a real big important thing, either.  
  
Once again, this is my 1st Gilmore Girl fic—I'm used to writing O-Town [let me tell ya—they're more easier, LoL] but I wanted to try something different since I LOVE Gilmore Girls + have been watching my GG tapes over and over...Anyway—that said, on with the story!! ;)  
  
  
  
"Mom!" Rory Gilmore called, hopping out of her room on one foot, while trying to put on her shoe at the same time. "Get up! Are you up?"  
  
Lorelai Gilmore grunted at her daughter from the kitchen, where she was sleepily preparing coffee.  
  
"Why does Monday have to come after Sunday?"  
  
"Because that's generally how the days of the week go," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. She made a face and turned to Rory.  
  
"To Luke's?" Rory suggested.  
  
"To Luke's."  
  
  
  
"What can I get you?" Luke asked, balancing three plates on his arms. He went around the diner, handing the steaming plates off to whoever ordered them, and walked back up to the counter. "Well?"  
  
Lorelai looked at Rory. "Do we ever order anything different?" she asked. "Can't we just say 'the usual' yet?"  
  
"I don't know," Rory answered. "We could try."  
  
"We'll have the usual, Luke."  
  
He nodded. "Coffee and a plate of toast. Coming right up." He started to walk off.  
  
"Toast?" Lorelai looked confused.  
  
Luke came back. "That is what you usually get, right?"  
  
"I don't know. Rory?"  
  
"Ah, I get it now. You actually have to usually get a certain food for you to be able to say 'the usual'."  
  
"Oh! But we don't have that."  
  
"I know. Maybe we should get one."  
  
"And change our routine, our way of life—and quite possibly the world?"  
  
"Good thinking." Rory turned to Luke. "We'll have coffee."  
  
"That's it?" he returned.  
  
"That's it."  
  
Luke turned to Lorelai for confirmation. "Oh—that's it."  
  
Once again, Luke started to walk off.  
  
"On second thought, I'll take a piece of toast, too."  
  
Luke turned back for a second, glared, and went to get the order.  
  
"You did that on purpose," Rory accused with a smile.  
  
Lorelai grinned. "Yeah, it was fun."  
  
Jess decided to make his appearance then, but tried to go unnoticed by Luke. He started over to where Rory and Lorelai were, but Luke saw him out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Jess—coffee!" he ordered.  
  
"Got it covered," Jess replied, bringing the coffeepot over to the Gilmore girls. "Coffee?"  
  
"Yes please," Rory said.  
  
Jess nodded at Rory, filling two cups with coffee and setting them down in front of her and Lorelai. "What are you doing after school?"  
  
"Dean's coming over and we're going to watch some old movies."  
  
"So today's Dean day?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Jess nodded, leaning against the counter. Luke came back with a plate of toast.  
  
"You did want this, right?" he asked, handing Lorelai the plate. He stared at Jess until finally he stood up, walking off with the coffeepot.  
  
"I don't know," Lorelai said thoughtfully. "I'm having second thoughts. Today doesn't seem like a 'toast' day...Maybe brownie day?" She looked at Rory.  
  
"Chocolate for breakfast?" Luke asked.  
  
"Oh yes, you can have chocolate any time," Lorelai told him.  
  
"And you?" Luke asked Rory.  
  
"I'll just take the toast."  
  
"At least you're normal."  
  
"I haven't converted her to the dark side yet," Lorelai shrugged. "Give me another week. Soon she'll be eating chocolate for breakfast with the rest of us."  
  
"Luke, when will my order be ready?" Taylor asked a few feet away.  
  
"Depends on what you ordered, Taylor."  
  
"All I wanted was some coffee." Taylor emphasized his words with various hand motions.  
  
"Coffee, oh geez. Jess!"  
  
"You yelled?" Jess responded a moment later, walking back over.  
  
"I thought you were giving everyone coffee."  
  
"I am. I decided to take my break."  
  
"Jess—"  
  
"Alright, alright!"  
  
Jess went over, poured a few cups of coffee, then stopped and looked up. He watched Rory as she stood up, told Lorelai bye, then headed outside.  
  
"Here," Jess said, handing Luke the coffeepot.  
  
"What? You didn't give them coffee," Luke said, motioning to the table by the window.  
  
"I have to go to school, I'll see you later!"  
  
Luke walked over to Lorelai.  
  
"Where is he going?"  
  
Luke shrugged. "He said school."  
  
"School? Early? Jess? Jess left early to go to school?"  
  
"I'm just as shocked as your are," Luke said flatly. "So what'll it be—brownie?"  
  
"You're so good to me," Lorelai joked, smiling. Luke went off to get her a brownie, and she turned to the window, watching as Jess hurried after Rory.  
  
  
  
"Rory!"  
  
Rory looked up, stopping and letting Jess catch up to her. "What, Jess?"  
  
"Can I get a ride to school?"  
  
"I don't go to your school," she reminded him.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Our schools are on the opposite sides of town."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I have to go before I'm late."  
  
He shrugged. "I know."  
  
"I don't have time to drop you off," she exclaimed, trying to get her point across. It didn't seem to be working.  
  
"So drive me to Chilton and I'll just walk to school."  
  
"That's stupid. It will take you five times as long to get there. What's the difference?"  
  
"The company," Jess said simply, opening the passenger side door.  
  
"Get in," Rory sighed.  
  
Jess grinned, climbing into the passenger seat while Rory got behind the wheel.  
  
Lorelai watched with narrowed eyes from her seat at the counter.  
  
A/N:: Like?? No like?? Please review!! ;) Thanks 3 Kimberly 


	2. You Stole A Book?

Chapter 2  
  
"You know I'm not going to your school, right?"  
  
Jess nodded, turning on the radio. "Yeah. Fair enough—you don't want to be late."  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
"I'll just skip. It's no big deal. Maybe I'll go see a movie. How about it?"  
  
"How about what?"  
  
"A movie."  
  
"I'm not going to skip with you—you can just forget it."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"And you shouldn't either," Rory added, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He turned to her.  
  
"Well how am I supposed to get to school on time all the way from Chilton?"  
  
Rory turned on her blinker and made a sharp left turn.  
  
"Woah, where are you going? Chilton's that way," Jess said, motioning behind them.  
  
"I know. You're going to school."  
  
"It's not necessary. They won't miss me."  
  
Rory pulled up to the school a minute later. "Here we are."  
  
"Huh. Here we are," he echoed.  
  
Rory nodded, looking out the window. She turned back to Jess. "Why aren't you leaving?"  
  
"I'm just waiting for Dean to make his way over here. He looks pretty upset..."  
  
"Dean?" Rory cried. "Where?"  
  
Jess pointed to her left and Rory turned, jumping at the sight of Dean, not a foot away.  
  
"Dean!"  
  
"What are you doing here—with Jess?"  
  
Rory glanced over at Jess, glaring at him before turning back to Dean.  
  
"He was just leaving. Bye Jess."  
  
"Bye Rory. See you at Luke's after school?"  
  
"She's hanging out with me after school," Dean told Jess.  
  
"I'm sorry, you answer for Rory now?"  
  
"We'll see, Jess," Rory said. "Now go! You may not care if you're late, but—"  
  
"Calm down." Jess smiled. "See you later, Rory. Bye Dean!"  
  
Dean glared at Jess, who had a smile on his face as he walked off. "Why did you drive him to school?"  
  
"He needed a ride."  
  
"You know I don't like him."  
  
"He's my friend. I was helping a friend. Don't be mad."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"Dean?"  
  
"I'm not," he assured her.  
  
"Okay, well, I have to go. I'm going to be late."  
  
Dean leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "See you after school?"  
  
"Sure," Rory replied. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," Dean replied, but she was already driving off. She had no time to waste. She was going to be late, no doubt, but she still had to hurry to make sure they didn't lock the doors. Because then she wouldn't be able to get into the school at all.  
  
About twenty minutes later, she pulled into the school parking lot. And thankfully only a few minutes late, she slid into her seat, unnoticed by the teacher.  
  
Paris shook her head at Rory, and Rory was almost afraid she was going to rat her out. But to her immense relief—Paris kept quiet. She just kept glaring Rory's way while the teacher was taking attendance.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Why aren't you downstairs?" Luke asked Jess.  
  
Jess didn't even look up. "I'm reading." He wrote some notes in the margin of his book.  
  
"If you're not up here studying, you should be downstairs. It's pretty crowded—I could use the extra help."  
  
"I want to finish this book."  
  
"The one you're writing all over?"  
  
"That would be the one."  
  
"Finish it later. I need some help."  
  
"I want to finish it so I can give it back to Rory. It'll take like ten minutes."  
  
"You can't finish that book in ten minutes."  
  
"Not with you distracting me, I can't."  
  
Luke threw up his hands. "Fine. Ten minutes."  
  
He went downstairs, letting Jess finish his book.  
  
Approximately ten minutes later, Jess flew down the stairs.  
  
"Where are you going? Jess!"  
  
Jess paused. "I told you I borrowed Rory's book. I have to give it back to her."  
  
"I'm sure she'll be here later."  
  
"No she won't. She has plans."  
  
"Fine. Go give Rory back her book." Luke gave up trying to get Jess to actually help him at the diner. God forbid Jess pouring a few cups of coffee, or being social for that matter.  
  
Jess left the diner and walked to the Gilmore house, not far away. He knocked on the door and it was immediately opened.  
  
"Hey—Jess?" Lorelai asked, confused. She looked around for a second, then turned back to him. "You lost?"  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I'll only stay a minute..." He held up Rory's book. "I borrowed a book from Rory."  
  
Lorelai eyed the book then reached out for it, but Jess pulled it away, just out of her reach.  
  
"I can give it to her, Jess. I think you can trust me to give a book to my daughter."  
  
"You don't trust me," Jess pointed out. "Yet I should trust you?"  
  
"Fine. Come in, but only for a minute. Do you know how long a minute is?"  
  
"I think I—"  
  
"Jess! What are you doing here?" Rory asked, somewhat nervously. She looked over his shoulder to make sure Dean wasn't coming. "You can't stay."  
  
Lorelai watched in amusement until Rory looked at her. "Oh, right—I'm gone. I'll be at Luke's. Bye sweetie. Bye Jess."  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Ma'am," Jess replied.  
  
Lorelai was about to say something, but Rory nudged her. So she just walked off.  
  
Rory looked over Jess's shoulder once more, then pulled him inside and closed the door.  
  
"Jess, why are you here? You know perfectly well that I'm hanging out with Dean tonight."  
  
"Oh, that was tonight?" Jess asked innocently, sitting down on the couch. "What happened—he stood you up?"  
  
"No."  
  
"He's late?"  
  
"No, he'll be here any minute. You have to leave."  
  
"Why? We could have a party. It'll be fun. We can watch those old movies you were talking about. Then when they're over, we can explain them to Dean."  
  
"Why are you here, Jess?" Rory tried again.  
  
"To give you the book I borrowed."  
  
"You didn't borrow a book from me," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Oh. It must have been the bookstore then."  
  
"You stole a book?"  
  
"Borrowed. You can read it if you want." He held it up for her to see.  
  
Just as Rory was reaching for it, the doorbell rang, and she quickly drew her hand back.  
  
"That's Dean!"  
  
"Great. Now we can start the party."  
  
"Jess!" Rory hissed. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "Go!"  
  
"You want me to leave?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You really want me to leave?" Jess raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes!" Rory cried, shoving him toward the kitchen. "Go!"  
  
Jess laughed. "Stop pushing! I didn't even get a chance to ask you—"  
  
"Rory?" Dean called. "The door was unlocked, so I just let myself in."  
  
With one huge push Rory shoved Jess into her room and closed the door.  
  
"Dean!"  
  
Dean came into the kitchen. "Am I late?"  
  
"No, you're right on time."  
  
She stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss.  
  
"What do you want to watch first?"  
  
"What are my choices?"  
  
"They are all on the table in there. Why don't you go sit down and relax, and pick out a movie, and I'll be right back."  
  
Dean took her hand in his as she started to turn away. "Where are you going?" he asked.  
  
"To my room...to change. To change into something more comfortable."  
  
"Okay, hurry back."  
  
Rory nodded, waiting for Dean to sit down in the other room before opening her bedroom door and disappearing inside.  
  
A/N:: You saw that coming with Dean walking in, right?? But, nope, he didn't catch them...yet...LoL. ;) I hope you liked the chapter, please review!! Thanks. 3 Kimberly 


	3. Why Would It Be About Jess?

Rory leaned her back against the door, locking it with her left hand.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Can I borrow this?" Jess asked, holding up a book.  
  
Rory shrugged. "Sure—I don't care. What were you doing just now?"  
  
"Observing."  
  
"Observing my bedroom?"  
  
"You have a nice room."  
  
"Um, thanks."  
  
"Does Dean come in here a lot?"  
  
"We usually just hang out in the living room."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Jess—"  
  
"Keep your voice down. You wouldn't want to give me away, would you?"  
  
He stood up and looked around. "How long am I going to have to stay in here, anyway?"  
  
"I don't know. It's your own fault, though."  
  
Jess nodded. "I wanted to see if you wanted to borrow my book, and now I'm stuck in your room all night. My fault."  
  
"Not...all night," Rory stammered.  
  
"So, I know you're hanging out with Bag Boy tonight, but what are you doing tomorrow?"  
  
"Tomorrow?" Rory echoed.  
  
"Yeah. There's this movie playing that—"  
  
"I can't talk about this right now. I have to go back out there to Dean before he gets suspicious."  
  
"Well, he has a right to be." He leaned forward and started whispering. "You have a GUY in your ROOM."  
  
"Jess!"  
  
"Can I listen to the radio, by any chance?" Jess sat back, looking at her radio.  
  
"NO."  
  
"Just thought I'd ask. Now go—go back to Dean."  
  
"I will," Rory responded. She locked eyes with Jess. "Just be quiet."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
"Jess—"  
  
"Rory?" Dean called from the living room.  
  
"Coming!" Rory exclaimed. She turned back to Jess. "You're not going to make any noise, right?"  
  
He thought about it. "I'll make you a deal. You go to the movies with me tomorrow, and—no one will even know I was here."  
  
"But—"  
  
"Tell him it's just a 'friendly outing'. It IS just a movie. What do you say?"  
  
Rory bit her lip. "I don't think Dean—"  
  
"Why do you let him have so much control over you?"  
  
Rory took a step back. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Can't you decide, by yourself, if you want to go with me to see a movie?"  
  
"Good point," she told him. "What's playing?"  
  
  
  
"What took so long?" Dean asked as Rory walked back into the living room. "And didn't you go to your room to change?"  
  
"I did."  
  
"But you didn't change. And," he added suspiciously, "I thought I heard you talking to someone."  
  
"I was talking to myself. I couldn't find the outfit I wanted. I—I guess Mom has it."  
  
Dean looked at her for a moment longer, looking as though he didn't quite accept her answer, but he let it slide.  
  
"So did you pick out the movie?"  
  
"Like ten minutes ago," Dean mumbled.  
  
"I'm sorry," Rory apologized. "You know, we don't HAVE to watch a movie..." She trailed off and Dean glanced at her with a grin on his face.  
  
"What did you have in mind?"  
  
She leaned closer and gave him a kiss, shrugging. A sudden thought occurred to her. More like a plan, really. She pulled away.  
  
"What now?" Dean asked.  
  
"I just remembered something I have to tell my mom."  
  
"So write it down and tell her later."  
  
"No, I'm serious. We have to go to Luke's."  
  
"Is this really about your mother...Or about Jess?"  
  
Rory bit her lip, thinking about Jess in her room that very second. "Of course it's about my mom," she exclaimed. "Why would it be about Jess?"  
  
Dean sighed. "Alright," he said, standing up. "Let's go."  
  
They walked to the front door, and just as Rory was about to open it, the doorknob turned in her grasp and the door was flung open.  
  
"Lorelai," Dean greeted. He smiled down at Rory. "Now we don't have to go anywhere."  
  
Rory nodded, her plan crumbling before her. She bit her lip, trying to think of a new plan to get Dean out of the house. How was she supposed to get Jess out?  
  
"Hey hun." Lorelai smiled. "Hey Dean."  
  
Lorelai walked into the living room. "What are we watching?"  
  
"Nothing yet," Rory replied.  
  
Lorelai turned around. "Nice..." she trailed off, a grin on her face. Rory shook her head. "Or not so nice. Rory, can I talk to you for a second?"  
  
Rory headed into the kitchen and Lorelai turned back to Dean. "Make yourself comfortable. In fact, start the movie. We've seen these like a thousand times anyway."  
  
Dean smiled politely, sitting back on the couch. "Alright..." he said, a bit confused.  
  
Lorelai followed Rory into the kitchen. "Rory, did—"  
  
Rory shook her head, looking at her bedroom door, then looking down.  
  
Lorelai watched her daughter, then walked over to her bedroom door and opened it in one quick motion.  
  
There lay Jess, sleeping on Rory's bed.  
  
"Get him out, get him out NOW!" Lorelai hissed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mom. He—"  
  
"Ror, we'll talk about this later. I'm saying this for your sake, as well as for Dean's—GET JESS OUT."  
  
"Can you—"  
  
"Can I distract Dean so you can get that little rat out of here? Is that what you were going to ask?"  
  
"Well...yeah. I'll owe you one..."  
  
Lorelai sighed, taking in her daughter's pleading expression. "Alright!" she cried. "I'll do it."  
  
She went back into the living room. "Oh wow! This is my favorite part!"  
  
"Um...this is still the previews."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Your favorite part of this movie is the previews? Maybe we should watch a different movie..."  
  
  
  
"Jess!" Rory whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
He didn't move, so she shook him. He still lay motionless, so she bent over and got in his face, preparing to yell in his ear if she had to.  
  
Suddenly he sat up, and they nearly knocked heads. His face was inches from hers, and gradually getting closer. Just as their lips were about to touch, Rory said,  
  
"You have to get out."  
  
"Excuse me?" Jess asked, pulling back.  
  
Rory, breathing heavily, put her hand to her head. "Dean's still here. I have to get you out!"  
  
Jess nodded, standing up. He grabbed the book that he was going to borrow and headed to the door.  
  
"After you," he said flatly, holding open the door.  
  
Rory stuck her head out of the room and caught Lorelai's eye. She nodded, so Rory led Jess from her room and tiptoed to the kitchen door. She opened it and Jess walked outside.  
  
"See you tomorrow," she called in a whisper, but he was already gone.  
  
  
  
A/N:: Sorry this chapter was kinda boring...hopefully the next chapter will be better. Anyway, if you're reading this, please review!! I love reviews, and if I stop getting reviews, I will assume my story's starting to suck, so I'll stop posting it, LoL. ;) I'm very, um, self conscious [?] about this story because it's the first GG story I've written, and I don't know if it's any good and stuff and like I said I don't like posting crappy stories, haha...[makes ya look bad, ya know?? ;)] So please review. Thanks!! 3 Kimberly 


	4. Five's The Limit, Sorry

Chapter 4  
  
  
  
A/N:: Ahh...this chapter isn't very much in-character for Rory + Jess, I don't think. But apparently, as 'miss' put it, "everyone seems in character, except for rory, she not that much out of character, but just abit, sort of the way she acts" Sorry, though, this is my first GG fic!! You can't expect me to be perfect yet, can ya?? And in response to:: "Why didn't jess just sneak out the window? that would have been the most logical thing."—you may be right, but that would be boring!! Well, in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I didn't think of that?? Who knows. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and please review!! 3 Kimberly.  
  
  
  
"Bye Dean," Lorelai called, shutting the door after him. She turned to Rory. "Jess was in your room."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"He was sleeping on your bed."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why was Jess in your room sleeping on your bed? Don't tell me because he liked yours the best. He's not—Goldilocks."  
  
"What?" Rory laughed. "I couldn't get him out in time. You left the door unlocked, and Dean came right in."  
  
"Excuse me, YOU left the door unlocked. And since when do you have to lock our door, anyway? The only person in Stars Hollow that would break into someone's house was already in here, so—"  
  
"Mom!"  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Well who else would we need to lock our door from?"  
  
"I don't know—no one." Rory sighed. "I think he's mad at me."  
  
"Who, Dean? No he wasn't. He seemed perfectly fine."  
  
"Jess."  
  
"Oh. You're better off anyway."  
  
"Mom!"  
  
  
  
"What took you so long? Where were you?"  
  
Jess ignored Luke, walking upstairs to their apartment above the diner. Luke followed him.  
  
"I'm talking to you!"  
  
"I told you I was at Rory's house," Jess said, throwing Rory's book on his bed.  
  
"You were there this whole time? I thought she had plans."  
  
"She did. Her PLANS came over, so I got shoved in Rory's room and got so bored I eventually fell asleep in there. Oh, but everything's fine. Half an hour later, her mom came home and helped distract Dean so I could get the hell out. I think that pretty much sums it up, don't you?" Jess asked irritably.  
  
"Oh...sorry," Luke said awkwardly. "Want me to talk to Lorelai about it?"  
  
"What for?"  
  
"She could, uh, talk to Rory for you." Luke explained.  
  
"No, don't talk to Lorelai. She already hates me as it is."  
  
"She doesn't HATE you."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Luke watched as his nephew made his way downstairs to grab something to eat before going to bed.  
  
"At least I don't THINK she hates him..."  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey, Luke," Lorelai replied, looking up. "Coffee please?"  
  
"You don't...hate Jess, do you?"  
  
"Uh—coffee, can I have some coffee please?"  
  
"Because he said you do, but I told him you don't, and he didn't believe me—"  
  
"Coffee! Can we talk about this over coffee?"  
  
Luke shook his head. "It's not ready yet."  
  
"Oh, now that's just mean," Lorelai responded. "I don't believe you."  
  
Luke grabbed a coffee mug and help up a half-full coffeepot.  
  
"Ooh—coffee! Need coffee..."  
  
"Answer my question," he demanded, holding the coffeepot away from her, high above her head. She gazed up at it, then stared at him in confusion.  
  
"No, I don't hate him. Now can I have the coffee? Pretty please?"  
  
Luke nodded, pouring her coffee, which she happily drank.  
  
Rory came into the diner and walked over. "Hey."  
  
"Hey sweets. I needed coffee—couldn't wait. Sorry."  
  
"Understandable," Rory replied. She turned to Luke. "Where's Jess?"  
  
"Upstairs."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Coffee?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
"You're so polite," Lorelai commented. "You should work on that."  
  
"I will."  
  
"Yeah, maybe you should start whining like your mother," Luke said, pouring Rory some coffee and setting the cup in front of her.  
  
"It's so much fun," Lorelai added. "AND you get what you want."  
  
"I'll remember that."  
  
Everyone looked up as Jess made his way downstairs. Without a word, he walked straight to the coffeepot and went around giving everyone refills.  
  
Then he hurried out of the diner, slamming the door behind him. Everyone in the diner looked up again, saw it was just Jess, and went back to whatever it was they were doing.  
  
Rory sighed. "I'm going to..." She trailed off.  
  
"Go right ahead," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory nodded, heading out of the diner and following Jess.  
  
  
  
"Thought I'd find you here," Rory said, looking down at Jess.  
  
He turned his head a little, but kept staring out at the water before him.  
  
"You were looking for me?"  
  
Rory shrugged, sitting down beside him. "I guess."  
  
"I'm surprised you're not still with Bag Boy," Jess commented.  
  
"Why? I thought we were going to the movies?"  
  
Jess looked over at her. "Now?" He grinned.  
  
"Why not? I know it's kind of late, but..." She turned to face him. "Don't tell me you don't want to go with me now?"  
  
"No, I do. Let's go."  
  
They both stood up, and Rory led the way back to the sidewalk.  
  
"What if Dean sees us?" Jess asked. "Do you want me to hide in the bathroom?"  
  
"If you really want to, I'm not going to stop you," Rory answered. "Although, I must warn you—Dean tends to use the bathroom, too."  
  
Jess stopped, looking at her.  
  
"I was joking," Rory told him. "I'm sorry about earlier—you caught me off guard."  
  
He nodded, walking again. He went into the diner, with Rory following him, and found that Luke and Lorelai hadn't moved.  
  
"One more cup?"  
  
"Five's the limit, sorry."  
  
"Drat. Rory, help me out here?" Lorelai pleaded, noticing that her daughter had entered the diner once again.  
  
"I agree with Luke, Mom."  
  
"You agree with Luke? You are siding against your own mother? What is the world coming to? YOU did this," Lorelai accused, glancing at Luke.  
  
"I did not."  
  
She pointed at him. "One more cup."  
  
"No."  
  
Lorelai frowned. "Drat."  
  
"Mom, can I go to the movies?"  
  
"Sure, hun. What are you going to see?"  
  
"We don't know yet."  
  
"We?"  
  
"Luke, I'm going to the movies too," Jess announced.  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"You? You and Jess?" Lorelai asked Rory.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And Dean? You, Jess, and Dean?"  
  
"No, just me and Jess."  
  
"Rory, can I speak to you for a second?"  
  
"Mom, it's fine. We're just seeing a movie."  
  
Jess walked off and left them to argue about him in private.  
  
"I know."  
  
"You can trust me."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I won't do anything. I LOVE Dean."  
  
"I know, Ror," Lorelai said with a sigh.  
  
"Okay, then I can go?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Thanks." Rory kissed her mom on the cheek. "You can trust me."  
  
Lorelai nodded, watching Rory head upstairs to get Jess.  
  
"It's HIM I don't trust." 


	5. Can You Please Put Your Shirt Back On?

Chapter 5  
  
"Jess, are you ready?" Rory called, knocking on the door. "Jess, come—"  
  
"Come in!"  
  
Rory opened the door, walked in, and sat down on the couch. She looked at the bookcase next to her, running her finger over the spines of the books.  
  
"You've got a nice collection of books," she commented.  
  
Jess stuck his head out of the bathroom, his bare chest revealed. He grabbed a shirt from the back of the couch. "Thanks."  
  
Rory's heart skipped a beat. She silently ordered her breathing to return to normal. Her heart started beating faster, but she couldn't help it. She managed a soft "You're welcome", then she stood up and started walking around.  
  
Jess grinned, knowing perfectly well what she was doing.  
  
"Rory."  
  
"Yeah?" She turned around, blushing even more at the sight of Jess—still without a shirt. She looked away, trying not to make it obvious. Her eyes kept flicking back to him.  
  
His eyes danced. "What movie do you want to see?"  
  
"I don't know, we'll see when we get there—can you please put your shirt back on?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because that's what it is for."  
  
Jess grinned, pulling the shirt over his head. "I'm fully clothed, you can look now."  
  
Rory glanced over, sighed, and led the way downstairs.  
  
"We're going!" she called to Luke and Lorelai.  
  
"Don't be late! I'm watching the clock!"  
  
Rory gave her mother a look and mouthed 'Trust Me', before disappearing outside, dragging Jess with her.  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke. "Can I trust Jess?"  
  
He thought about it carefully before responding. "With Rory—of course."  
  
"With anyone else?"  
  
"I'll get back to you on that," Luke replied.  
  
  
  
* * * *  
  
  
  
"Luke, I'm bored," Lorelai whined. She slid her coffee mug back and forth on the counter. Luke stopped her by taking away the empty cup.  
  
"So go home," he told her. "Everyone ELSE already left."  
  
"No, don't make me...Rory's not there, I'll be all alone. I'll have more fun staying here and bugging you."  
  
"Exactly. Bugging me. I stopped giving you coffee, so what reason is there to stay here?"  
  
"Did I mention I wanted another cup?"  
  
"Okay, that's it. Let's go."  
  
Lorelai's eyes lit up. "Ooh, where are we going?"  
  
"YOU'RE going home. We're closed."  
  
"You can't be closed," Lorelai pouted. "Luke's doesn't close until I leave."  
  
"You never leave."  
  
"I know, and I am still here, therefore you aren't closed."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Want to see a movie?"  
  
"A movie?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"When?"  
  
"I'm thinking now."  
  
Luke started fidgeting. "I don't know..."  
  
"We don't even have to go to the movies. We can just stay home, and—"  
  
"I—"  
  
Lorelai gave him a puppy dog look, and his expression changed.  
  
"No. Rory will be home soon, and I should be here to let Jess in, and..."  
  
  
  
"Do you want some popcorn? Soda? Stale, uh...stuff?"  
  
"I'll pass."  
  
"You're missing out," Lorelai called from the kitchen. She came back with a soda.  
  
Luke hovered awkwardly above the couch, looking around. Lorelai watched him in amusement.  
  
"Sit, watch. Enjoy."  
  
Luke obediently sat down. "What are we going to watch?"  
  
"Legally Blonde?" Lorelai suggested.  
  
"What? No."  
  
"Where the Heart Is?"  
  
"What's that about?"  
  
"A pregnant girl gets stranded at a Wal-Mart and ends up living there. She has her baby there and everything."  
  
"NO."  
  
"You're no fun. How can we watch a movie if you turn everything down? Try saying yes. Whatever I say—just say yes. Okay?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No—yes, not no!"  
  
The doorbell rang and Lorelai jumped up.  
  
"Watch out, Luke, it's probably Reese Witherspoon coming to hunt you down for saying you didn't want to watch her movie."  
  
Luke turned and watched as Lorelai opened the door.  
  
"Reese!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean Rory. Come in, come in...What happened to the key—"  
  
"Gone."  
  
"Gone?"  
  
"Gone."  
  
"Who would want to steal a key?" Lorelai wondered aloud. She glanced over at Jess. "Hi, JESS."  
  
Rory nudged her mother as she walked into the living room.  
  
"Oh—Luke, hi."  
  
Luke, looking even more uncomfortable than before, smiled. "Rory."  
  
Jess nodded at Luke. "We went by the diner."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And you weren't there."  
  
"That's because I was here."  
  
"Obviously. Next time could you put a key someplace? Or give me one? You hardly leave the diner anyway, and it's not like I can do anything with you there."  
  
"I'll think about it," Luke answered, standing up. "Well," he said to Lorelai, "thanks for the movie. I'm going to—"  
  
"What movie? We didn't watch one yet!"  
  
"My mistake. Maybe some other time."  
  
"Oh, don't go."  
  
"The whole reason I came over was because Rory wasn't here and you begged me to."  
  
"We can leave," Jess offered. "If you want to be alone."  
  
Luke frowned at Jess. "No. That's not what I meant. Stay. You're...staying."  
  
"That's fine, too," Jess replied, looking at Rory. She hid a smile, ducking her head.  
  
"What are we watching?" Rory wanted to know.  
  
"Legally Blonde."  
  
"Oh geez, isn't there something better?" Luke asked.  
  
"I don't believe there is. Any objections—no? Okay, Legally Blonde it is."  
  
"Wait, I object. You didn't give me time to object."  
  
Lorelai turned to Luke. "Oh, sorry...Too late. We already decided that we're watching it."  
  
"Fine," Luke sighed.  
  
  
  
Half an hour later, Jess nudged Rory, nodding at Luke and Lorelai, who were totally engrossed in the movie.  
  
Rory grinned, slowing standing up. She walked over to her bedroom door and looked back at Jess. He just stared at her until she motioned for him to follow her into her room.  
  
Jess glanced once more at Luke and Lorelai as he got up, but they didn't seem to notice. He hurried to Rory's room, disappearing inside.  
  
Lorelai watched out of the corner of her eye, a frown on her face.  
  
  
  
A/N:: My, Luke sure is 'obedient', huh?? LOL. ;) Sorry this chapter is so late. ;/ Well, please r+r...and tell me if the story is starting to suck!! And, oh, tell me what you think should happen in upcoming chapters. That would help me out a lot. If you don't want to review it, e-mail me @ Eeyore783@aol.com. 


	6. That Little Rat Corrupted My Daughter's ...

"Hey," Jess said, closing the door behind him.  
  
Rory smiled. "Hey."  
  
Jess moved over to her desk, pulling out the chair and sitting down backwards on it.  
  
"They were really getting into the movie..."  
  
"I know." Jess paused. "Tonight was fun. We should do it again sometime soon." He raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.  
  
"Jess—"  
  
"Didn't you have fun?"  
  
Rory nodded. "It was fun."  
  
"Then what's the problem?" he asked, standing up and moving over to the bed, sitting opposite her.  
  
"I love Dean..." Rory said slowly, trailing off. She was suddenly aware of his closeness, and her heart started beating a bit faster again. "And he doesn't like you," she finished, after having taken a deep breath to calm herself.  
  
"I am aware."  
  
"But then again, you're my friend, and friends..." she trailed off, swallowing. "Friends are allowed to hang out. Dean has no right to be jealous, and—" Rory knew she was rambling on, but she couldn't help it.  
  
Time seemed to stop, as Jess leaned closer until he was only about an inch away. Rory's breathing slowed, and she moved forward, locking lips with the very person she was supposed to steer clear from.  
  
She didn't care anymore. She was sick and tired of denying her feelings just because everyone in Stars Hollow expected her to always be with Dean. They treated her like she was fragile, like she was perfect. But she wasn't perfect—no one was.  
  
Rory finally pulled away, and she and Jess just sat there, staring at each other. Jess's lips curved in a small smile.  
  
"It's about time," a voice called from the doorway.  
  
Rory's eyes widened. "Mom, I can explain—" she started.  
  
"No need to, hun," Lorelai replied. "I'm not the one you need to talk to."  
  
Rory and Jess looked at each other, and Rory sighed.  
  
"I guess I should go," Jess said, standing up. He walked into the living room and grabbed his jacket.  
  
"Come on, Luke."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You can watch the chick flick some other time. LET'S GO."  
  
"Woah, is Jess trying to do a Luke impersonation there?" Lorelai asked Rory in a whisper.  
  
"I don't know. It's kind of amusing though."  
  
"I know."  
  
Luke looked at Jess like he was crazy, but he obediently stood up anyway.  
  
Jess led the way outside, and Luke paused as he passed Lorelai.  
  
"Thanks for the, uh, movie," he said.  
  
She smiled. "Anytime."  
  
"See you tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah. Ooh, maybe tomorrow we can watch Where the Heart Is."  
  
Luke's smile faded. "What? No, that's not what I—"  
  
"Oh, ooh—Charlie's Angels. Sound good?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good, it's a date. See you tomorrow. You bring the popcorn this time."  
  
"No—"  
  
"Luke, need I remind you that you still have the keys to the diner?" Jess yelled.  
  
Luke nodded at Lorelai and Rory, heading out the door and following Jess back to the diner.  
  
Lorelai watched them leave, sinking down into one of the kitchen chairs. "I'm tired."  
  
"Me too. I'm going to bed. Night—"  
  
"Woah, hold on there," Lorelai commanded, raising her head. "Are you going to talk to Dean tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What are you going to say?"  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
  
  
* * Next Day * *  
  
  
  
"Rory," Dean greeted, giving her a quick kiss. "What's up? I can't really talk now...It's pretty busy. A few people called in sick, and I have to go—"  
  
"Maybe I should come back later."  
  
"No, you said there was something important you needed to tell me. I've got time. Go ahead."  
  
Rory swallowed back the tears that threatened to fall. "It's about us, Dean."  
  
"What about us..."  
  
"I think...Well, I mean—" Rory struggled to find the words. This was new to her; she didn't even know how to go about breaking up with someone. If only Dean had caught Jess in Rory's room, then maybe—  
  
"Rory?"  
  
"I think we should take a break from us," she said quickly, before she could change her mind.  
  
Dean reeled back as if he'd been slapped, and Rory lowered her head.  
  
"What, why?" he asked, with an edge to his voice.  
  
"Well—"  
  
"It's because of Jess, isn't it?" Dean asked quietly.  
  
Rory looked up at his sudden change of emotion. She shook her head. "Not entirely."  
  
"But mainly?"  
  
"Well...I guess."  
  
Dean nodded. "I have to get back to work now," he said numbly.  
  
"Dean, don't—"  
  
"Bye Rory."  
  
Rory bit her lip to keep from crying. She nodded at Dean's retreating back. "Bye Dean."  
  
  
  
"You just broke up with him—just like that?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And no one cried?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Surprising."  
  
Rory glanced at her friend. "Yeah?"  
  
"Did you want to cry? I hear it's very emotional to break up with someone. Of course, I wouldn't know. I could imagine, though. But, you know, I think my mom is warming up to the idea of me and Henry as a couple."  
  
"That's awesome, Lane," Rory said.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Is HE warming up to the idea yet?"  
  
"Well, he said as long as we can be seen together in public, and not have to resort to diversions to see each other..."  
  
"When's the last time you talked to him?"  
  
"I called him last night."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And he didn't sound totally disappointed that I called," Lane said, a self-satisfied grin on her face.  
  
"That's great!"  
  
"Yeah," Lane nodded. "So are you going to make a move with Jess now? Or...another move?"  
  
Rory blushed. "Whatever happens, happens."  
  
  
  
Lorelai watched silently as Michel yelled at Rune for something or the other. She almost felt sorry for the guy. It seemed like he could never get anything right.  
  
"You just had a break," Michel told Rune. "You don't get another one."  
  
"But I wasn't doing anything."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But—"  
  
Lorelai watched in amusement as they fought some more, but asked them to go outside when their argument had gotten heated. Rather than doing the adult thing and stop fighting, they agreeably went outside.  
  
Lorelai went to the kitchen to check up on Sookie.  
  
"How's everything coming, Sook?"  
  
Sookie glanced up as she whisked some eggs in a bowl. "Twenty four, twenty five..."  
  
"Looks good."  
  
Sookie shook her head and started counting more vehemently. "Twenty six, twenty seven..."  
  
"REALLY coming along..." Lorelai trailed off.  
  
"Twenty eight, twenty nine..."  
  
"So, Rory broke up with Dean today."  
  
Sookie dropped the bowl onto the counter, her eyes widening. Ignoring the mess that had sloshed from the bowl on impact with the table, she addressed Lorelai. "What did he do?"  
  
"It's not what DEAN did, per say."  
  
"Okay, what did Jess do?"  
  
"That little rat corrupted my daughter's heart. He got into her head and messed everything up."  
  
"Did you talk to Luke?"  
  
"Why? Jess wouldn't listen to Luke anyway."  
  
"Well, I don't know. How did Dean take it? Poor kid."  
  
Lorelai shrugged. "I haven't talked to Rory yet."  
  
  
  
Rory walked into Luke's and looked around. "Where's Mom?" she asked Luke.  
  
He glanced up from wiping down the counter. "Not here."  
  
"Oh." Rory looked around again, trying to be casual about it.  
  
"Jess is upstairs."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"He's probably just reading. You can go up if you want."  
  
Rory opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, changing her mind. "No, I didn't come to see Jess," she said carefully. "I just wanted to see if my mom was here. Guess she's still at the inn."  
  
Luke nodded. "Coffee?"  
  
"Um...Sure." Rory nodded.  
  
Luke poured her a cup and set it down in front of her. He stood there looking at her, trying to decide on saying something or not. Finally, he sighed, the nagging voice in his head—JESS'S nagging voice—getting the best of him.  
  
"I heard you broke up with Dean today. Are you okay?"  
  
Rory blinked, setting her coffee cup back down and fixing Luke with a stare. "Where did you hear that from? It JUST happened!"  
  
"Uh...news travels fast," he replied.  
  
Rory picked her cup back up and took a sip. "I'm fine, thanks."  
  
"Want to talk about it?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"I understand," Luke assured her.  
  
Rory smiled her thanks just as Jess came downstairs. He saw Rory and started to head over, before changing his mind and making a quick exit from the diner.  
  
Rory watched him leave, sighing dejectedly. It was just like him to run away when things got a little complicated.  
  
  
  
Jess took a deep breath, staring at the ground as he walked—where, he wasn't sure yet. Probably the park. He paused outside of the market Dean worked at. Yup, there he was—bagging someone's groceries.  
  
Suddenly Dean looked up, spotted Jess, and walked over.  
  
"Jess," he growled.  
  
"Dean."  
  
"I guess by now, by that smirk on your face, you know Rory and I broke up."  
  
Jess raised an eyebrow, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Huh."  
  
"Like you didn't know."  
  
"I believe I didn't. Good to know, though. Thanks for the update, Dean."  
  
Jess walked off, leaving Dean glaring after him.  
  
  
  
"What's happening tonight?" Lorelai asked, later that evening.  
  
She had just gotten home, and she and Rory were hanging out in the living room, catching up on the day's events.  
  
"I don't know," Rory responded, glancing around. "Another movie?"  
  
"Yeah, or maybe we could invite some of those lowlifes over that we talked about before..." Lorelai looked hopefully at her daughter.  
  
Rory frowned. "No lowlifes."  
  
"Aw. Now even one lowlife?"  
  
"No, Mom. No lowlifes for you."  
  
"You sound like that guy from Seinfeld!" Lorelai exclaimed.  
  
"Which one?" Rory asked, confused.  
  
"The Soup Nazi," Lorelai replied as the doorbell rang. She stood up and moved to the door. She turned back and pointed at Rory. "No soup for you!" she mocked.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
Lorelai laughed, opening the door. Her eyes widened a little. "Ror—it's for you."  
  
"Is it the lowlife?" Rory called, walking into the room. Her smile faded as she saw who it was. "Oh...hi."  
  
  
  
Jess walked into the diner, his eyes quickly scanning the occupants. He breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't here.  
  
He walked up to the counter and nodded at Luke. "Hey."  
  
"Hey," Luke replied gruffly.  
  
Jess stood there a moment longer in silences, then turned to leave. He took a few steps before Luke sighed, telling him to hold on.  
  
"Yes, she broke up with him. But that's all she would tell me."  
  
Jess stopped, but he didn't turn around.  
  
"What did you do, Jess?" Luke demanded.  
  
Jess looked first to his left, then to his right, as if he was about to cross a busy street. Then he spun around, fixing his eyes on Luke. "I don't know what you're talking about, Uncle Luke." And with that, he walked off and headed upstairs.  
  
"It's not UNCLE Luke, it's just Luke!" Luke called after Jess, who showed no sign of hearing him whatsoever.  
  
"I try to be helpful, and this is what I get," Luke said, frowning. He nodded at the person standing before him, trying to get his attention. "What'll it be?"  
  
A/N:: Okay, first things first—I wrote about Rory and Jess kissing before I saw it on the season finale, I swear!! Okay, that said...Lane is probably out of character, but she doesn't have a major role in the story, so I'm fine with it. No need to tell me, then, b/c I already know!! lol. ;) Sorry this chapter took so long to get up, but I do have the next few chapters written already, so it shouldn't be as long to get the next chapter up. I have one favor to ask, though...I am not so sure the next few chapters are good enough or not, and I was wondering if one of you would like to proof read [basically meaning make sure the chapter doesn't suck, before I post it and get bad reviews ;)] the chapter before I put it up on ff.net?? I would just e-mail you the chapter, and you tell me if anything about it suxx, and if it seems pretty much okay to you, I'll then put it up. I'd still want you to review though, LOL...I need all the reviews I can get, j/j. ;) Anyway, if you want to help me out, e-mail me @ Eeyore783@aol.com . Oh, and I'm only going to have one person doing it, so if you want to—hurry and e-mail me before someone else does. Sorry for the extra long AN, but hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!! 


	7. Author's Note Sneak Peek

A/N:: I know ff.net doesn't really allow these updates, so I will put the beginning of the next chapter up, too, and just delete this later on, when I add the full chapter, k?? ;) Anyway, I wanted to get a few more reviews before I posted the next chapter [which I still am not done typing up, *sorry*], and I think the reason that I didn't get many reviews for this chapter is probably b/c I put up my story when everyone else was and mine got pushed to the bottom and maybe you guys didn't see mine was update. LoL or I could just be wrong and you didn't even read it!! ;) Anyway, I got like 13 reviews last chapter, and 4 this chapter, so when I get a few more reviews for Chapter 6, I'll add Chapter 7!! Please review if you haven't, I'll 3 ya for it!! Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease... –otownroxx  
  
  
  
Here's a sneak peek of the next chapter...  
  
  
  
Jess sighed, setting down his book. He had just read two full pages, but he couldn't remember a single sentence in it. He just had other things on his mind. Usually reading helped him forget those things, push them to the back of his mind. Not this time.  
  
He couldn't stop thinking about Rory. His head had been spinning since they kissed. And then today she breaks up with Dean? What does that mean? Even though he was more confused than he'd ever admit, he couldn't bring himself to talk to the one person who could set him straight again—Rory.  
  
Every time he saw her, he either ran away or ignored her. She probably hated him by now. For all he knew, she might have even already gotten back together with Dean.  
  
The more he thought about it, the more Jess wanted to see Rory, to talk about what happened, and what happens next.  
  
Gathering up all his courage, and before he could change his mind yet again, Jess headed back downstairs. He passed Luke, said he was going 'out', and left the diner.  
  
With newfound resolve, Jess walked the familiar path to the Gilmore house. He didn't know what to expect, but he didn't expect the door to already be opened, with Rory standing beside it. Jess started to walk up the walkway, until he noticed the target of Rory's gaze. She wasn't alone.  
  
  
  
"You're what?" Luke asked, wondering if he had heard right.  
  
"I'm going to New York in the morning," Jess repeated, hovering over an unpacked suitcase. He started shoving in some clothes, then placed a few carefully selected books on top, shutting the suitcase.  
  
"I see, and are you planning on coming back?"  
  
"I don't really know yet. But if I decide not to, I'll send for my things."  
  
"And that's it?"  
  
"What's 'it'?"  
  
"You're not going to tell me why you are running away from Stars Hollow?"  
  
Jess glanced up. "I'm not running away," he pointed out. "I just...don't see the point of staying anymore."  
  
  
  
A/N:: Sorry, that's all you get. *grin* Please review!! 


	8. Tell Liz I Said Hi

A/N:: Ready to see who the mysterious person is?? Do you know who it is yet?? I bet you do. Read, enjoy, and please review!! You guys rock. Oh, and, sorry if this chapter doesn't meet up to...your hopes or whatever, lol. I, personally, liked it, but my proofreaders, I think, expected a little more. Apparently this chapter is a bit dull. Sorry about that!! ;/  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Jess sighed, setting down his book. He had just read two full pages, but he couldn't remember a single sentence in it. He just had other things on his mind. Usually reading helped him forget those things, push them to the back of his mind. Not this time.  
He couldn't stop thinking about Rory. His head had been spinning since they kissed. And then today she breaks up with Dean? What does that mean? Even though he was more confused than he'd ever admit, he couldn't bring himself to talk to the one person who could set him straight again-Rory.  
Every time he saw her, he either ran away or ignored her. She probably hated him by now. For all he knew, she might have even already gotten back together with Dean.  
The more he thought about it, the more Jess wanted to see Rory, to talk about what happened, and what happens next.  
Gathering up all his courage, and before he could change his mind yet again, Jess headed back downstairs. He passed Luke, said he was going 'out', and left the diner.  
With newfound resolve, Jess walked the familiar path to the Gilmore house. He didn't know what to expect to happen on this visit, but one thing was for sure-he DIDN'T expect the door to already be opened, with Rory standing beside it. Jess started to walk up the walkway, until he noticed the target of Rory's gaze. She wasn't alone.  
Jess stopped dead in his tracks. Some unknown guy casually held out his arm for a hug. Rory hesitantly hugged him, almost in a daze.  
Jess's eyes narrowed. Who was this guy? Feeling himself growing a little jealous, he stepped back into the shadows, a dejected frown on his face. Apparently their kiss had meant nothing. A spur of the moment, never-to-happen-again...kiss.  
How had he let this happen? Something about this girl got to him, from the moment he first saw her. God, how cheesy was that?  
Jess kicked an empty soda can on the ground, watching as it bounced to a stop about twenty feet away. It seemed so out of place. He looked around but didn't see another piece of trash.  
It was at that moment when he realized he had to get out of that town-of the state altogether. He had to go back to New York.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Rory asked breathlessly. She made no move to step aside and let him in.  
"I don't know, to tell you the truth."  
"Are you just visiting?" Rory asked. She finally, reluctantly, stepped aside and Tristan followed her inside.  
"I'm just visiting," he confirmed, looking around the room.  
"Oh, okay. Well, um, just sit down and I'll be right back. I'll go get some sodas."  
Tristan nodded, sitting down on the couch and reaching for the TV remote.  
Rory hurried into the kitchen, where Lorelai was hiding out.  
"Mom!" she hissed.  
Lorelai, who had been trying to escape out the kitchen door, turned around, a guilty smile on her face. She looked at Rory, her expression turning to one of innocence. "Hey, Ror, I was just checking the, um...lock." She coughed. "Yeah, just making sure it works good, since...our key is missing." Lorelai stopped, trying to think of a better-sounding excuse.  
"Don't leave me here!" Rory cried. She lowered her voice. "You shouldn't have let him in in the first place," she muttered.  
"But you did, I didn't," Lorelai said defensively.  
"Okay, fine. How do we get rid of him?"  
"I don't know..." Lorelai threw her hands up. "Tell him it's your bedtime."  
"What?"  
"Is he a lowlife?"  
Rory slowly shook her head, confused. "He got sent to military school, but-"  
"Ooh, lowlife!" Lorelai laughed. "Hun, I'm going to Luke's. Don't forget to hide the lowlife in your room before mommy comes home. Oh wait, did that..." Lorelai grinned and kissed Rory on the forehead.  
Rory watched helplessly as her mother cowardly left out the kitchen door. Taking a deep breath, she made her way back to the living room.  
  
"You're what?" Luke asked, wondering if he had heard right.  
"I'm going to New York in the morning," Jess repeated, hovering over an unpacked suitcase. He started shoving in some clothes, then placed a few carefully selected books on top, shutting the suitcase.  
"I see, and are you planning on coming back?"  
"I don't really know yet. But if I decide not to, I'll send for my things."  
"And that's it?"  
"What's 'it'?"  
"You're not going to tell me why you are running away from Stars Hollow?"  
Jess glanced up. "I'm not running away," he pointed out. "I just...don't see the point of staying anymore."  
Luke nodded. "Does this have something to do with Rory?"  
Jess's face clouded briefly, and his jaw clenched. "She can do what she wants."  
Luke half-smiled at Jess. "I wasn't talking about her, I was talking about you," he replied, happy to be getting somewhere in this conversation with Jess.  
Jess seemed unfazed by it all. "I can do what I want, too. And I want to go to New York. If you can spare me, that is," he said wryly.  
"Tell Liz I said Hi."  
  
Lorelai knocked on the door to Luke's diner, spotting Luke's shadow across the room.  
He turned and walked over to unlock the door for her. He opened the door and turned on the lights. "Hey."  
"Hey," Lorelai replied. "What's going on, why are you closed?"  
"No one was here."  
"Maybe, but you should have anticipated my arrival."  
"Apparently I should have," Luke agreed dryly, grabbing two cups and filling them with coffee. "Where's Rory?"  
"She's, um..." Lorelai scratched her head. "She's at home."  
Jess, who had been listening from the stairs, finally walked over, making his presence known. He avoided Lorelai's imploring eyes, grabbing his own cup and filling it with coffee.  
"Is she okay?"  
Lorelai frowned at Luke. "Why wouldn't she be?"  
"Well, she broke up with Dean, I thought."  
"Oh! Yeah, she's a tough kid. And so is he. They'll be fine."  
'She sure found someone to cheer her up pretty quickly,' Jess thought bitterly. He wished they'd just stop talking about Rory already. Did Lorelai think that just because he and Rory had kissed, that he'd want to hear about her all night? Well, he didn't. Because apparently...their kiss had meant nothing.  
  
"I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, but I wanted to see you while I was here," Tristan said with a shrug.  
"Okay, as long as you're not expecting anything to happen with us."  
Tristan looked at her in amusement. "Like what?"  
Rory blushed. "I don't know. I just mean, well, I'm-"  
"Seeing someone?" Tristan offered.  
"Yeah. No-maybe. Oh, I don't know!"  
Rory's eyes involuntarily filled with angry tears at the thought of Jess, but she hastily wiped them away. She hated how he had been ignoring her so much. Had their kiss meant nothing?  
"Dean?" Tristan asked, handing her a tissue.  
Rory wiped her eyes, crumbling the damp tissue in her fist. "Jess."  
"Jess? Who the hell is Jess?"  
"Luke's nephew. Do you know who Luke is?"  
Tristan shrugged, a blank look on his face.  
"Just forget it. It's a long story, anyway," Rory sighed.  
Tristan watched as she took deep breaths, fighting to keep the tears from falling.  
"I guess you picked a bad time to visit," Rory told him, before her face crumbled and she began to sob.  
  
About half an hour later, Rory was calmed down, leaning back against the couch beside Tristan. He casually placed an arm on the back of the couch, just above her head.  
Rory, fully embarrassed over the show she had just put on for Tristan, kept quiet.  
He accepted her silence for awhile, but eventually he got bored. He shook Rory, who had almost drifted off to sleep.  
"Hey."  
"Huh-what?" Rory asked sleepily.  
"I have to leave soon, and I am probably going back to Hartford in the morning, and then I won't see you. I thought..."  
Rory smiled. "I know, I'm sorry. I'll try to stay awake. So what's military school like?"  
"It's...alright, I guess. I'd rather be at Chilton with you and the guys, though. Even Paris. How's she doing? Is she still-"  
"Paris? Yeah, she hasn't changed," Rory told him.  
"Hey," Tristan exclaimed suddenly, as a thought occurred to him. "One of the guys is throwing me a party tomorrow night. Wanna come?"  
"Um..." Rory bit her lip. She didn't have many Chilton friends. At lunch, she was always the quiet one sitting off to the side by herself, engrossed in a good book. She felt no need to make new friends. She already had plenty back home in Stars Hollow. Of course, half of them were twice her age, but that didn't matter to her.  
"You can bring whoever you want..."  
"Um..."  
"Dean, Rain, JESS..."  
"It's Lane," Rory said automatically. And she didn't even bother to explain the situation with Dean.  
Tristan apologized and searched her face for a definite answer. "Is that a yes?" he asked.  
Rory smiled uncertainly. "Where is it again?"  
  
"Hey, Luke," Lorelai called as Jess walked upstairs to go to bed.  
"Yeah?"  
"What's with Jess? He was moody tonight. I mean, ever more so than usual." She glanced after Jess, even though he was already up in the apartment above the diner with the door closed.  
"I don't know. Something happened tonight when he left the diner. He came back and said he was going back to New York in the morning."  
Lorelai gasped. "For good?"  
"He told me he didn't know."  
Lorelai frowned in confusion, staring at the coffee cup she held between her hands. After Jess finally wormed his way to Rory's heard, he just up and leaves? How typical of him!  
"But..."  
"I even mentioned Rory to him and he said she could do what she wants. Do you know what he meant by that?"  
"You're asking ME to explain Jess?"  
"Did he fight with Rory or something?"  
"Not that I know-OH." Lorelai groaned and let her head fall to the counter.  
"What? 'Oh' what?" Luke demanded.  
"Nothing. Do you know what time Jess's bus leaves?"  
"Eight, I think."  
"Okay, thanks," Lorelai said with a smile. She took one last sip of her coffee and stood up. "I better go. Rory has some lowlife over and I have to make sure he didn't seduce her while I was gone."  
Luke's eyes widened. "What?"  
"Relax, she likes Jess," Lorelai called over her shoulder as she walked to the door.  
"She does?"  
"Goodnight Luke."  
"Goodnight, Lorelai," Luke responded, more than a little confused. Hand it to Lorelai to always be the one to confuse him.  
  
A/N:: Again, sorry if the chapter was boring!! But thanks for the awesome reviews anyway...LoL I would've uploaded this yesterday, but it was my birthday and I was kinda busy. But, yay, it's here, so please review!! ;) 


	9. Did I Not Teach You Anything, Dear Child...

Hey guys, sorry it took SO long for me to update...I had kind of a writers block on the story and neglected it for awhile, typing it and everything. Anyway, some parts of this chapter may be a bit boring, but I kind of like it, so go easy on the criticism, eh?? ;) 3 Kimberly

Chapter 8

"Ror?" Lorelai called, looking around as she closed the front door. No Rory in the living room, no daughter in the kitchen...She swung open Rory's bedroom door and smiled. Rory was in bed, fast asleep and breathing lightly.

Lorelai paused in the doorway, trying to decide whether to wake Rory up or not. Finally deciding her daughter looked too peaceful to disturb, Lorelai quietly left Rory's room and softly closed the door after her.

She headed to her own room and changed her clothes and got ready for bed. Just as she finished brushing her teeth and was slipping into bed, there was a knock on her door.

"Come on in, hun," Lorelai called, pulling down her shirt.

The door opened, and a sleepy Rory walked in. She went straight for Lorelai's bed and curled up on it.

"You're home." She yawned.

"Yeah, and it's a good thing you're up. I have news."

"Me too. You first."

"Okay, but first—is the 'lowlife' gone?" Lorelai asked, making air quotes with two fingers on each hand.

"Yes he is."

"Oh, no...You mean he's not in your room hiding out until I go to sleep, when he will then climb out the window, but end up slipping and falling and breaking a leg?"

"No?" Rory raised an eyebrow at her mother. "That's too farfetched even for—"

Lorelai held up a hand, silencing Rory. "Trust me—it happens."

Rory grinned, nodding. "Alright then."

"So he's really not here?"

"He's really not here."

"Did I not teach you _anything_, dear child?"

Rory shrugged. "I'll do better next time."

"Very good." Lorelai fell onto her bed, causing Rory to bounce into the air. "So—what's your news?"

"Well, you know Tristan used to go to Chilton..." Rory trailed off, looking at her mom.

"Yeah, so? He was part of the reason you and Dean broke up the first time, right? Before Jess came along?"

"No!"

"Oh, whoops." Lorelai grinned. "My mistake, continue."

Rory frowned. "Well, anyway, some guy in Hartford, one of Tristan's old friends, is throwing him a party. And he asked me if I wanted to go. He said I could bring anyone I wanted. You know, Lane, Dean—"

"Dean?"

"Tristan doesn't know we broke up. He also suggested I invite Jess."

"Jess? At a Chilton party? I would _pay_ to see that," Lorelai laughed. Her smile faded into a look of confusion. "Wait, how does he know about Jess?"

Rory blushed. "I mentioned him."

"Oh, Rory..." Lorelai gasped. "Oh! I almost forgot about _my_ news!"

Rory looked at her mother expectantly. "Yeah?"

"Jess is going back to New York."

"He's what!" Rory cried. "When?"

"In the morning. Ror, you have to stop him."

Rory sat back, regarding her mother thoughtfully. "Why—"

"Because you obviously like him."

"I _obviously_ like him?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, hun, guys are clueless. I think he saw you and Tristan earlier, and—"

The color drained from Rory's face. "But I don't like Tristan."

"I know that."

"Tristan doesn't even like me like that."

"I—well, okay."

Rory sighed. "So what do I do now?"

"Ror, I think you meet him at the bus stop."

Jess groaned, rolling over onto his back. It was useless—he couldn't sleep. He had tried reading, listening to music, thinking about, well, _her_...Nothing seemed to work.

Finally he sat up and punched his pillow in frustration. Deciding to just catch up on sleep on the bus ride to New York, he got up and went downstairs to get a cup of coffee.

Three cups later, it was almost time to leave for New York.

Jess went back upstairs and grabbed his suitcase and made sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He spotted a copy of Oliver Twist on top of his bookshelf, and he quickly shoved it in the suitcase before giving it a second thought. His eyes fell on his walkman, and he grabbed that, too. What the hell, right? Who knew when he was coming back to Stars Hollow, anyway.

Jess, finally satisfied he had all of his essential stuff, once again went downstairs. He left the diner and headed for the bus stop, which was conveniently just down the street. He looked up and froze in his tracks for a split second, but willed his legs to keep moving. His hands in his pockets, he walked over to Rory.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here, Jess?"

Jess nodded at the bus stop sign. "Waiting for a bus to stop. After all, this _is_ the bus stop."

"Not funny."

"I guess I'm just not in a funny mood."

"Why are you leaving?"

Jess glanced over to Rory. "Why did you come here, Rory?"

"To...Well, to stop you, I guess," she answered, blushing furiously.

"Why?"

"Just wanted to."

A bus pulled up, and Rory's face fell as she saw the words NEW YORK printed in big letters on the bus.

Jess made no move to get on it. Instead, he stared at Rory. She turned back to him.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"I'm getting on the bus," he told her.

She frowned, crossing her arms. "Then go."

"I will."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Jess started to move closer and Rory closed her eyes. Just as he was about to kiss her, someone screamed over a loudspeaker that the bus to New York would be leaving in ten minutes.

Jess leaned back, and Rory sighed in disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jess was already walking off toward the bus.

"Jess, stop!" she cried. "Don't go!" She felt all of her hurt from his ignoring her over the past few days coming back. She didn't want him to leave her again. This feeling scared her, but she remembered her mom had said to stop him. The trouble was—she didn't know how.

She stood there, trying to decide what to do. Her thoughts were pulling her in so many different directions her head was spinning.

She would have still been standing there, confused, if a song hadn't popped in her head just then. She recognized it as 'Open Your Heart' by Madonna. She had no idea why she had thought of it, but it stuck in her head.

-

I see you on the street and you walk on by

You make me wanna hang my head down and cry

If you gave me half the change you'd see

My desire burning inside of me.

But you choose to look the other way

Well, I've got something to say

-

Rory glanced up at Jess's bus, and he gazed back at her from the window.

-

Open your heart to me, baby

I hold the lock and you hold the key

Open your heard to me, darlin'

I'll give you love if you, you turn the key

-

By now, Jess had gotten back up and walked to the front of the bus. Rory watched him, waiting for him to get off the bus and walk back over to her. But he didn't do either. He just shook his head and went to sit back down.

Without thinking, Rory ran up to the bus and got on. She paid the driver and got her ticket and went over to Jess.

"Is this seat taken?"

Lorelai watched as Rory got on the bus and it pulled away and headed to New York.

"He's a good kid," a voice said, interrupting her thoughts. "He won't let anything happen to her."

Lorelai turned around and smiled at Luke. "I know," she said softly.

Luke gave her a small smile and led the way back to the diner.

Not long later, Luke had taken his usual spot behind the counter, and Lorelai sat before him, feeling somewhat out of place without Rory there.

"Coffee?" Luke offered, holding up a full coffeepot with freshly brewed coffee.

The smell soothed Lorelai some, and she nodded.

"It's going to feel weird with Jess gone," she commented.

Luke glanced up as he poured her coffee. "He's coming back."

"He is?" Lorelai asked, not sure whether she was disappointed or not.

"Well, he said maybe, but..." Luke leaned forward. "He is."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Rory is here," Luke replied, walking off to offer coffee refills around the diner.

Lorelai's expression turned thoughtful as she tried to picture Rory and Jess going out. Holding hands—the whole nine yards. He'd have to dress nicer, of course, or it just wouldn't look right. She pictured him in a Chilton uniform and burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Luke demanded, making his way back over and taking his place behind the counter.

"Nothing," Lorelai said innocently. "Can I have more coffee?"

"Already? You're not even finished with that cup yet!"

Lorelai shrugged, feeling more like her usual self. "Hey—can we listen to music?"

"No."

"Do you remember our little talk about you not saying no?"

__

"No."

Lorelai and Luke smiled at each other, and Lorelai slowly sipped her coffee, dreading the fact that soon she had to leave to go to work.

"Donut?" Luke asked, motioning to a plate of donuts next to her.

She snapped out of her reverie and looked at the plate, her stomach growling loudly.

"My stomach has spoken. We want that one," Lorelai said, pointing.

Luke raised an eyebrow, choosing not to comment for fear of the weird conversation it might start. He had definitely heard enough of Lorelai's donut speeches to last a lifetime.

He put her donut on a plate and slid it over to her.

"Here."

"Thanks Luke."

"Luke! When will my order be ready?"

Luke's smile quickly faded back into his usual guarded frown, and he turned his attention away from Lorelai.

"It depends on what you ordered, Taylor," he growled.

"Be my guest."

Rory sat down just as the bus started to move. 'Oh no...' she thought. 'I guess I'm on my way to New York.' She hadn't actually meant to go anywhere...she just got on the bus to stop _him_ from leaving.

Rory panicked, looking past Jess out the window as they left the bus stop.

"Uh, Rory?"

"Yeah?" she glanced at him, a worried expression on her face.

He flashed her his famous half-smile. "We're on our way to New York."

Rory thought of Lorelai and felt herself relax. She knew her mother wouldn't be mad at her for following Jess to New York. These past few days, Lorelai had actually been...dare she even think it..._approving_ of Jess. Rory knew it would only be a matter of time before the merciless teasing would start. She groaned just thinking about it.

Rory glanced over at Jess. He was leaning back in his seat, his head turned slightly, looking out the window. As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned to her.

"What?"

Rory stared at him for a moment longer before answering. "Why are you going back to New York?"

He shrugged in response.

"Did you tell Luke you were leaving?" Rory paused. Seeing as how he didn't look like he was going to answer her, she added, "Why are you ignoring me?"

"What's with the twenty questions?" Jess returned.

Rory blushed, looking down. She folded her arms across her chest. "I shouldn't have come here," she realized. "I...I need to get off," she said urgently. "Is there a way to stop this thing?"

She started to stand up, but Jess lightly tugged on her hand and made her sit back down.

"Rory."

Rory refused to answer, leaning back in her seat and staring forward. Jess shrugged, digging into his backpack and pulling out a book and his walkman. Rory glanced over curiously. Jess turned to her, caught her eye, and handed her a book. She smiled gratefully and began to read as Jess put on his headphones and got comfortable, opening his own book.

"I'll see you later, Luke," Lorelai called, standing up.

Luke looked up as he handed Kirk his sandwich and drink. He nodded at her. "Will you..."

"I'll let you know if Rory calls," Lorelai said. "You too, okay?"

He nodded, heading back to the counter and grabbing the coffeepot. Lorelai watched him a second longer before leaving the diner, getting into her car and leaving for work.

An hour later, as if her day wasn't hectic enough, a new problem occurred. One she just didn't want to deal with right now. Just as she was about to run off and hide, Michel's voice rang in her ears.

"Mrs. Gilmore, Mr. Gilmore, how nice it is to see you," he said, giving Lorelai a smirk. She shot him a death glare as Emily and Richard made their way over.

"Now, that's just mean," Lorelai muttered as Michel blocked her escape route.

"Hello, Lorelai," Richard greeted.

Lorelai smiled politely, hoping she looked genuine. "Hi Mom, hi Dad."

"Hello Lorelai," Emily echoed, looking around.

Lorelai stood there a second, waiting somewhat impatiently for them to tell her why they were there. "What's up?" she asked slowly, looking from Richard to Emily.

"Your father decided...Richard, you tell her."

Lorelai, confused, looked at Richard. "Uh, Dad?"

Richard opened his mouth to speak, but Emily cut him off. "Your father has decided he wants to go on a roller coaster at ten in the morning and he wanted to know if you and Rory care to join us."

From her mother's facial expressions, Lorelai could tell Emily was less than thrilled about the whole idea. Lorelai pictured her and Rory going to a theme park with her parents. Riding roller coasters, eating cotton candy...she shuddered at the thought. And it would be even worse without Rory there!

"Oh. Um..." Lorelai willed herself to come up with something—anything—to get her out of this. "Rory's sick," she heard herself say. "I...I think I should stay with her," she said slowly, looking at her parents and trying to tell if they bought it or not.

"Oh no, is she alright?" Emily asked, concerned.

Lorelai mentally pat herself on the back. "Nothing serious, I'm sure. But still...I think I'll keep her company."

"Alright," Emily said with a sigh.

"Speaking of Rory being sick," Lorelai said suddenly, "I'm not sure if we can make it to dinner tomorrow. I wouldn't want you guys to catch anything."

"Very well. Call if you change your mind," Emily said.

Lorelai nodded, said goodbye to her parents, and watched them leave, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Rory is sick?" Michel asked her.

She turned to him. "No."

He opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it and walked off.

Rory sighed, putting down the book she had been reading. She glanced over at Jess. He was slumped low in his seat, his head turned slightly to her, and sleeping soundly.

Rory felt herself smile. She reached over and took his headphones off his ears; he didn't look comfortable. She put them on her own head, wondering what song was playing. She didn't recognize the song, but she kept listening anyway.

She let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

Jess opened his eyes and looked over at Rory. He leaned over and her eyes flew open.

"My walkman," he told her, taking it back.

Rory swallowed, her heart beating fast. "Oh, I was just—"

Jess cut her off, standing up as the bus stopped. "This is my stop," he announced.

"Oh." Rory moved out of his way, into the aisle, and led the way to the front of the bus. She got off, took a few steps, and turned around. She didn't see Jess. Just as she was beginning to worry that he had tricked her into getting off at the wrong stop, she spotted him stepping off the bus with a small suitcase in hand.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he caught up to her. He kept walking, not waiting for an answer.

"Uh...sure," Rory replied, even though he wasn't really looking for a response. She followed a step behind him, glancing around at her surroundings.

Jess stopped suddenly and Rory almost fell on him. Once she regained her composure, she looked up to see where they would be eating. A quaint little coffee place stood before them.

"This is it."

Jess led the way inside and sat down in a booth near the back.

"This reminds me of Luke's," Rory exclaimed, grinning as she took in the old-fashioned paintings and other décor around the small room.

Jess shrugged. "I know you like coffee. And this seemed like your kind of place."

"It is, I love it."

He smiled. "Good."

She smiled back. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad experience after all.

A/N:: Oh, sorry to the proof readers...I already took so long to get the chapter up, and I didn't want to wait for you guys to read it and get back to me...No offense, lol. ;) I really hope you guys liked the chapter, don't forget to review—that's why I put the story up here!! hehe. Until next time... 3 Kimberly


	10. Take A Left, Right, Left What?

Chapter 9

"Hey, Luke, any word yet?"

"No, but it's still early. They probably just went out to lunch. I'm sure she'll call soon."

Lorelai loudly tapped her fingernails on the counter. "I'm not _worried_," she said. "Do I sound worried?"

"I don't—"

"I'm not. I have every reason to believe Jess only has good intentions toward Rory, don't I?"

"Is that a trick question? Or were you even looking for an answer?"

Lorelai sighed. "When do you think they'll come back?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure Liz won't mind Rory coming to the apartment," Luke answered.

"Oh...that's good."

"Why?"

"Why?" Lorelai let out a breath. "Because Rory is supposedly sick. And it won't look good if she goes out of town when she's sick."

"Who thinks she's sick, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, I told my parents she was to get out of going to dinner with them tomorrow."

"So don't tell them she left town."

"Are you suggesting I _lie_ to my parents?" Lorelai demanded.

Luke coughed. "Well telling them Rory was sick wasn't exactly truthful."

"True, but what if they come over?"

"Why would they come over?"

"To bring Rory chicken soup. Sick people need soup."

"They wouldn't—"

"To check up on her; to check up on me. To make sure she really _is_ sick. Maybe I should hurry home just in case and stuff pillows under Rory's covers in bed to make it look like she's there sleeping."

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

Lorelai stopped talking to take a breath. "Well I better get back to work."

"Yeah, me too."

"You know, I don't think we've ever talked this long on the phone. It seems kind of weird."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward pause, and Luke coughed again. "Well, I'm going to go. Kirk is glaring at me."

"Tell him to stop it or his face will freeze that way."

"I think it already has."

"Oh, well nevermind then. Bye Luke."

"Bye Lorelai."

"So who was that guy?" Jess asked casually, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Rory took a sip of her drink and set it back on the table before responding. "What guy?" she asked.

"The one that wasn't Dean. How many guys are there?"

"You mean in the world?"

Jess frowned and Rory laughed.

"It was Tristan."

"I haven't seen him around. He goes to Chilton?"

"Yes. No. He—"

"Well which is it?"

"No. He got sent to military school. He was just dropping by to say hi."

"Oh."

Rory thought Jess looked a little relieved, but before she could tell for sure, the blank, unreadable expression was back on his face.

"Actually, he told me one of his friends in Hartford is throwing him a party. He invited me, and I was wondering if you—"

"Oh my god!"

Rory and Jess both looked up in surprise as a girl ran over to them. She threw her arms around Jess and Rory raised an eyebrow. Jess didn't really show a reaction at first, until the girl pulled away.

"Lex!" he greeted.

"You didn't tell me you were back in town," Lex exclaimed, completely ignoring Rory.

"I just got here."

"You staying?"

Jess glanced quickly at Rory. "I don't know."

Rory leaned back in her seat, looking at the girl standing next to her. She usually wasn't quick to judge, but she couldn't help slightly turning her nose up at the girl. She was wearing a grungy pair of overalls with grease stains on them over a tight-fitting olive green T-shirt. She wore dark lipstick and black nailpolish. Her face was pale, and her eyebrow and nose were both pierced.

"Oh, Lex, this is Rory. She followed me here from Stars Hollow."

"Another stalker, huh?"

"I am _not_ a stalker," Rory said defensively. "I didn't even mean to come here. I don't know why I did come here."

"Woah, chill, I was just messin'," Lex said. She gave Jess a smirk and Rory felt herself blush.

"Rory, this is Lex. She went to school with me here in New York."

"Until he got sent off to Boringsville," Lex added. She looked at Rory. "Oh, no offense. That's just what we call it."

What '_we'_ call it, huh? Rory thought, stealing a glance toward Jess. He diverted his gaze, and Rory looked back at Lex, nodding. She felt severely out of place here. Like she was a third wheel.

"I'll be back," she said, standing up quickly.

Lex didn't question her; she immediately took Rory's seat.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked.

"To the bathroom," Rory replied.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luke, is my mom there? No one answered at home so I figured she was there."

"Hey Rory. Yeah, she's right here. Hold—"

Rory listened as Lorelai anxiously grabbed the phone from Luke.

"Ror?"

"Hey Mom."

"Hey! How's it going? What happened? Where are you—what are you doing?"

"Too many questions...I can only process them one at a time."

"Oh, okay, if you want to be like that. Where are you?"

"I'm at this cute coffeeplace. It reminds me of Luke's."

"Sounds fine so far."

"Ugh," Rory groaned.

"Not fine?"

"Well some girl in greasy clothes just came in and practically threw herself on Jess."

"Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?" Lorelai teased.

"No. I just feel like a third wheel or something, ya know?"

"Oh. I'm sure you're not."

"And it's not like I can just go home," Rory continued as if her mother hadn't spoken.

"Sure ya can. It's only a bus ride away."

"But the whole reason I came to New York was to get Jess to come back to Stars Hollow."

"So?"

"So if I leave, he probably won't."

"As opposed to you staying and him coming back here?"

"You know what I—"

A voice came on over the line,_ Please deposit fifty cents._

"Oops, I have to go. I'll call again later, okay?"

__

Please deposit fifty cents.

"Okay. See you, Ror."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

__

Please deposit fifty cents.

Rory sighed, hung up the phone, and made her way back to the table.

"How is she?"

Lorelai looked up at Luke. "She's okay. She and Jess are at some coffeeplace. She said some girl—one of Jess's friends—came over, and now she feels like a third wheel."

"I doubt she's a third wheel," Luke replied.

Lorelai shrugged. "I told her that, too. But she feels obligated to stick around, because she thinks that if she doesn't, Jess will end up staying in New York."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"I have no problem with him staying in New York. Between the frequent calls from the principal, the stealing of lawn gnomes—"

"He's getting a little better..."

"—the lack of respect for me, and everyone else in this town for that matter. He's rude to you, and—"

"He likes Rory."

Luke sighed. "He likes Rory."

Rory stood awkwardly hovering over Jess and Lex. They hadn't appeared to notice her reappearance yet. Becoming impatient and self-conscious, Rory cleared her throat. But Jess and Lex were in too deep of a conversation to notice.

Rory looked around and started to pull up a chair from another table. Then she thought better of it. If they ignored her before, they would probably ignore her now, too. She bit her lip, trying to decide what to do.

'Let him catch up with his friend,' she thought. 'I'll go find a bookstore or something. I don't need a tourguide.'

Ignoring the quick but sharp pain in her chest, Rory headed outside. Jess and Lex didn't even look up.

'What should I do first?' Rory wondered. She gazed at all the freakishly tall buildings around her.

"Oh, um, excuse me," Rory called to a man hurrying past her. He barely slowed, but he glanced over at her, so she hurried after him. "Where's the bookstore?"

The man sighed and stopped. He glanced quickly at his watch, then pointed at the street ahead. "Take the next left, then go right, go straight for about a mile, turn left, right, then go straight. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," Rory said as he hurried off, after having done his good deed of the day. "Take a left, right, left...what?" Rory sighed, confused. A cab pulled up to the curb next to her and she moved to get in, thinking taking a cab was the easiest way to actually get somewhere.

A woman cut her off, practically shoving Rory out of the way. Then she glared at Rory as if blaming her for the near-collision.

The cab pulled away, and Rory frowned. She sat down at the curb, lowering her head into her arms. She was beginning to wonder why she even came to New York in the first place.

Suddenly, she was staring at another pair of shoes. She slowly glanced up, and her face lit up as she caught eyes with Tristan. He bent down and helped her up.

"Hey, if it isn't Mary," he said with a smile, calling her by the nickname he gave her awhile back. "What are you doing in a big city like this? You lost?"

"Tristan, what are you doing here?" Rory asked, as if she hadn't heard him.

He shrugged. "I'm not used to small-town life anymore. I got..."

"Claustrophobic? Homesick?" Rory offered.

"Exactly. So, Mary, if you're going to ever make it as a big-city girl, you're going to have to learn how to call a cab." He whistled once and out of nowhere, a cab appeared.

"You try," Tristan told Rory, waving off the cab.

Rory blushed slightly, putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling shrilly. A cab appeared and Rory glanced at Tristan, her eyes shining.

"Cool!"

Tristan nodded in amusement, jumping into the cab. Rory got in after him, and the cab pulled away from the curb and into the steady stream of traffic before she could even shut her door.

"Where's Rory?" Jess asked, cutting Lex off.

She narrowed her eyes, more than a little irritated. Did he really have to keep forcing _her_ into the conversation every two seconds?

"She's at the same place she was when you asked five seconds ago."

"It doesn't take anyone that long to go to the bathroom," Jess objected.

"Well, what do you propose we do, go hunt her down and make sure she _is_ going to the bathroom?"

Jess made a face. "Go check," he urged. "It's been ten minutes."

Lex snorted. "God, look at you!" she laughed. "What's gotten into you?"

Jess just stared at her, and finally she sighed in frustration. "Fine," she snapped. "I'll go check the bathroom to see if she fell in."

Jess watched his friend head toward the restrooms, and he quickly walked to the entrance of the coffeeplace. He scanned the sidewalk for Rory. He finally spotted her, but just as he was about to call to her, she got into the back of a cab with some guy and the cab sped off.

Jess squinted to see who was in the backseat with Rory. He recognized the disheveled blonde hair immediately. "Tristan?" Jess asked aloud. "Dammit!"

Ignoring the weird stares from a few tourists, Jess whistled for a cab. He gave the driver instructions to follow Rory's cab.

If she got lost in this big city what that loser, there was no telling what would happen. But it definitely wouldn't be good.

Jess could just picture it now, him talking to Lorelai: 'Yeah, Rory took off on her own, and I kind of can't find her. But it's okay—she's with some guy.'

"Can't you go any faster?"

"Hey," Lorelai called, walking into Luke's.

Luke looked up and smiled a greeting, expertly balancing four plates in his arms. Caesar sent out another plate and Luke looked at his arms, frowning.

Lorelai grinned. "I got it," she said, taking the plate. "Where to?"

"Taylor."

Lorelai walked over and set the plate down in front of Taylor. "Hey, Taylor."

"Hello, Lorelai. Where's Rory?"

"She's, uh, sick. Sick and in bed."

"Oh, I didn't know there was anything going around. It isn't contagious, is it?"

"Oh yes, the pillows are quite contagious."

"What?"

"What?" Lorelai countered.

Taylor took a sip of coffee and Lorelai went over to the counter, for her routine after-work cup of coffee. Granted she had already _had _her after-work cup of coffee, but she let that little fact slide. You could never have too much coffee, anyway.

"Hey."

"Hey," Luke answered.

"So what's with Taylor? He was acting weird." Lorelai shrugged. She put both hands around her cup of coffee to warm them. She suddenly felt a chill.

"I wonder what they're doing right now?" she asked Luke.

"So are you coming to my party later?"

Rory glanced up. "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'm coming solo, though."

"That's a shame."

"It doesn't matter," she responded, more to herself than to him.

"The Jess thing didn't work out?" Tristan pressed.

"Uh..."

Tristan nodded, changing the subject. "It's been too long, Mary."

"Much," she agreed.

"Hey," he said suddenly, glancing at the road behind them. "Are we being followed?"

Lex impatiently stomped her foot as she waited inside the girl's restroom. Several of the stalls were occupied, but she had no way to tell if Rory was there or not. Calling out seemed to be the best option, but deciding she didn't feel like embarrassing herself just then, she came up with something else. Shoes. Oh, but what kind of shoes did Rory have on? How the hell should she know.

Lex squatted down and stared at everyone's shoes, feeling her face turn red as the door opened and the woman walking into the restroom gave her a weird look before going over to an empty stall and firmly shutting the door.

'Well,' Lex thought, 'so much for not embarrassing myself.'

She stood up and sighed. "Rory? Rory, are you in here?"

After getting no response, Lex fled from the restroom. 'God, I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life. Or, at least, felt so stupid. I'm going to _kill_ Jess!'

She made her way back over to the table where Jess...wasn't there?

"Dammit, Jess!" she yelled, glancing quickly around and stomping out of the coffeeplace.

"Luke, can I get another cup of coffee?"

"You've already had three cups. Not to mention the two you had earlier."

"Only three? I'm slacking. Please?" Lorelai whined.

"I could make you some tea—"

"Tea, blah," she cut him off. "Coffee?"

"Tea," Luke said firmly.

"But I'm a paying customer!"

"You haven't paid me at all since Rory left."

"Oh, right." Lorelai stood up. "Well I'm going to head home, and stuff Rory's bed with pillows."

Luke smirked, watching her leave. Miss Patty walked over from her table by the window.

"Hey Luke," she started.

"Hey Miss Patty," he greeted. "What'll it be?"

"What do you think of Lorelai?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"More coffee?"

"You think she's a pretty girl, right?"

"Is there a point to this conversation?"

"I'm just saying—"

"I know what you're trying to do," he interrupted.

She smiled and pat his hand. "Just think about it."

Luke frowned, watching her exit the diner. He didn't see why Miss Patty and Babette and everyone were always trying to get him and Lorelai together. He just didn't see it.

****

A/N:: Ugh, I totally screwed up the lyrics to Madonna's song last chapter—I just realized that. Sorry!! ;/ Grr...I lost the proofreaders' e-mail addresses!! Ahh...lol if you still wanted to proofread, e-mail me ASAP. Thanks & sorry. 3


	11. Isn't This Just A Kodak Moment?

A/n:: thanks to animegoddess18 for proofreading this chapter...if anyone else wants to help out, I'll take a few more proofreaders, but you have to get back to me soon after I send the e-mail, like a day or two, or it'll be too late, b/c as soon as I type up the chapter I want to put it up...LOL. anyway, that's it—on to the chapter!! I hope you like—

Chapter 10

"Who's following us?" Rory wanted to know, turning around.

Tristan squinted. "Hey, isn't that your friend?"

"Jess?" Rory asked. Her hand flew to her mouth and she stifled a laugh. "Jess is following us!"

"And why is that funny?"

"You'd really have to know him more to get it," Rory answered. "Can you let us out here, please?"

The cab driver slowed the car and Tristan paid him. He and Rory got out just as Jess's cab pulled to a stop behind them.

"Do I get to meet the famous Jess I've been hearing so much about?"

Rory nodded as Jess walked over to them.

"Hey."

Rory bit her lip. "Hey."

"Isn't this just a Kodak moment?" Jess said sarcastically.

"Where's Lex?" Rory returned.

"I hate to interrupt, since I'm having so much fun listening to you two, but I've got to get back to Hartford. See you later?" Tristan asked Rory. She nodded. "Alright, bye Mary." Tristan nodded at Jess and walked off.

"Why does he call you that?"

Rory smiled, not bothering to answer. "So where is she?"

"Jealous?" Jess smirked.

"No, you?" she shot back.

He locked eyes with her for a long moment before saying anything.

"Of what?" he finally asked.

Rory grinned. "Nothing. So are you staying here, or what?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Because," Rory continued, "there's that party for Tristan I told you about earlier...I'm going, and I was wondering if you wanted to go too?"

Jess flashed her a half smile. "Sounds like fun. Think we'll run into Dean there?"

Rory frowned. "No, he doesn't like Tristan."

"Gee, but he seemed like such a likable guy," Jess said dryly.

"He has his moments," Rory replied. "Well, shall we?"

Jess bit his lip, looking at her. Her face grew hot as she held his gaze. He looked like he wanted to kiss her, but now wasn't the time. He smiled, leading the way to the bus stop.

"You know, I really hadn't planned on going back so soon," Jess told Rory.

She looked up. "Good thing I came after you, then," she responded.

Jess sighed. He really didn't want to leave New York. He wanted to pack his things in Stars Hollow, jump on a bus to New York, and pick up where he left off. He could do that—easily. The only thing that was stopping him was Rory. Not physically stopping him, of course. But the way he felt when he was around her—

"Hey, aren't you coming?" Rory asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Jess took a deep breath. He was about to leave New York—again. Leave his hometown for where? Boringsville, Connecticut. Had he lost all common sense, or what?

"I'm coming," he finally replied, picking up his suitcase.

****

"Rory!" Lorelai called as Rory and Jess got off the bus. She hurried over to them, Luke following slowly behind her.

"Hey Mom." Rory laughed as Lorelai wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"Hey sweets. Hey Jess."

Jess nodded wordlessly at her.

"Jess," Luke said gruffly, when he caught up to them.

"Luke."

"You staying this time?"

Jess blinked. Did he really have to decide at that very moment, before he even set his suitcase down? He thought quickly. Stars Hollow...or New York. Luke...or his mom. His friends back home...or Rory. Just when he thought he knew what he wanted to say, he looked over at Rory. She was trying to disentangle herself from Lorelai's arms. Lorelai let her go, and Rory turned to Jess with a small smile.

"I think so."

The four of them all headed back to Luke's, where things immediately returned to normal. Luke stood behind the counter, subconsciously flirting with Lorelai, and Jess got stuck pouring the coffee and busing the tables.

Rory watched Jess go from table to table, half-heartedly offering refills, and her heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly, she couldn't _wait_ until Tristan's party later that night.

Later that day, Lorelai and Rory sat at their kitchen table, talking about the day's events.

"I can't believe all that happened just _today_," Rory said.

Lorelai nodded, sipping her coffee. "And to think, I almost had to go on a roller coaster with my parents today. Good thing you were sick."

"But I wasn't sick."

"Shh. You were," Lorelai insisted.

Rory grinned. "Oh, okay."

"So Tristan showed up?"

"Yeah."

"And...You're going to his party tonight?"

"Right. But not with him."

"So you asked Jess?"

"Yeah..."

"What did he say?"

The doorbell rang, cutting off Rory's answer. Lorelai grinned.

"That's him?"

Rory kissed her mom on the cheek. "I'll be home by midnight," she promised, grabbing her purse.

"Alright, bye sweetie," Lorelai called. "Oh, and I'll be expecting details later. Don't forget _any_thing. This is Jess's first Chilton party, and I don't want to miss a thing. In fact, take pictures if it is at all possible."

Rory grinned in response, walking to the front door. She opened it and smiled shyly at Jess. "Hey Jess."

"Hey."

She stepped outside and headed over to her car. She got in, let Jess in, and they were on their way.

****

"That sure was some day we had, huh?"

Rory nodded, glancing over at Jess. "And it's not over yet."

"What were you thinking when you got on that bus?"

Rory was quiet for a moment. She tried to think of the right words to say, to sum up all of the emotions that she had been feeling. "Well," she began slowly. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Huh."

"I mean, I knew I couldn't let you..." she trailed off, afraid of revealing too much. "I mean—" she tried again.

Jess chewed on his lower lip. "I know."

"Oh—good."

"Are there going to be a lot of people there?" Jess asked, changing the subject.

"Probably."

Now Jess was quiet.

"What?" Rory demanded.

"Nothing. Just wondering why I agreed to come in the first place. It's not my scene. Rich people, fancy parties—"

"You're coming because I asked you and you said yes."

"Oh—right."

Jess groaned as the house came into view. It looked as big as his school. Rory pulled into the long, narrow driveway lined with cars. She glanced around, looking for a place to park.

"See anywhere?"

"Uh...yeah, there," Jess pointed.

Rory drove to where he pointed and frowned. "They're going to get it," she sighed, watching a car speed over to the space and turn into the spot.

"Jerk," Jess muttered.

Rory gasped as she got a better look at the car.

"What?"

"That's Dean's car!"

"Easy!" Dean exclaimed. "You'd think this was your first time driving."

"I know how to drive. Someone tried to get the spot, so I had to speed up to get it. There are no other parking spots, and I don't feel like driving around until someone decides to leave."

"Okay, I got it."

"Relax, dude. Remember you're here to have a good time. Forget about that girl you were going out with."

"It's not that easy, Jake," Dean muttered, following his friend up to the house. "Just be glad you're single."

"Hey, you keep forgetting that _you are too_," Jake said in exasperation. "You're going to find the girl of our dreams here. This I promise you."

"Unless Rory is here, I highly doubt it."

"You're a lost cause," Jake sighed. "I don't know why I bother." He nodded at some friends and turned to two attractive girls passing them. "Time to party!"

Dean took a deep breath and followed his friend.

"Rory."

"What?" she responded, her eyes scouring the room.

"Stop. Stop looking for Dean." Jess's hands clenched at his sides.

"I'm not..." Rory trailed off. "Ooh, there he—oh, no, that's not him."

Jess threw up his hands. _"Rory,"_ he said more firmly.

She fixed her eyes on him, looking at him expectantly, yet somewhat impatiently.

"I...nevermind."

"What?" she pressed.

He looked at her for a moment. "Why exactly did you ask me to come here with you?"

Her cheeks turned pink. "I...don't know. I liked hanging out with you."

"Why didn't you ask Dean?"

"I couldn't. He and I broke up."

Jess took a step back. So that's it. No 'I'd rather be here with you', no 'He's nothing to me', or even 'I thought of you first.' The reason she asked him to this party was because she didn't think she was _allowed_ to ask Dean, since they broke up. Second choice again.

"Jess? What's wrong?"

'I can't believe I let this stupid small town get to me so much. I can't believe I let _her_ get to me so much,' Jess thought angrily.

"I don't belong here. I'm leaving."

Rory grabbed Jess's hand as he turned away, her heart jumping to her throat. No! He can't do this to me again! He just can't!

"Don't," she cried, on the verge of tears.

"Why?" Jess asked. He stopped, but didn't turn around. He shrugged off her hand.

A weird sense of déjà vu came over Rory and she remembered the first time she and Dean had broken up. She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Her old feelings were coming back. She felt the hurt all over again. Was she really about to let this one go?

Rory choked back her old feelings and pushed them to the back of her mind.

"Because I—" Rory swallowed. Don't say love, do _not_ say love! She willed herself. "I—" Just show him.

Torn between what she should and shouldn't do, Rory finally just grabbed Jess's hand again and pulled him over to her. His eyes widened at her forcefulness. Before he had time to say anything, Rory kissed him. Right there, in the middle of the crowd of dancers. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like forever. Like time stopped. When Rory pulled away, Jess was more than a little disappointed. He didn't know how to respond. All he wanted to do was kiss her again.

"Rory—"

"Jess—"

They both stopped, smiling at each other.

The moment was broken when Tristan spotted them and walked over.

A/N:: Well, what did you think?? Like...no like?? Gimme a review ;) And...again, I need some more proofreaders. Maybe just 1 or 2, but more nonetheless. I need someone who'll help my find spellings errors, too, b/c I type fast and sometimes I miss stuff. I just re-posted this chapter b/c I found an error that my PR apparently didn't. E-mail me @ Eeyore783@aol.com if you're interested, thanks. ;)


	12. Stalking Is Illegal, You Know

****

A/N:: thanks for all the reviews, first off. ;) And...some of you didn't understand why Dean was invited to the Chilton party, so I guess I'll clear that up. I thought I explained it in the chapter, but I guess I wasn't clear enough, lol. Anyway, Dean's all upset and stuff about Rory, and his friend, [who I guess goes to Chilton?? LoL], was invited to Tristan's party. Well he [Dean's friend] invited Dean, b/c he wanted to cheer him up, and he thought that going to this party would help. Dean [a little clueless??] didn't expect Rory to be there. Or something like that. LoL I'm bad at explaining, like I said, I thought I wrote it in the chapter. If you don't understand still, just e-mail me.

Chapter 11

"I haven't seen you at Chilton before."

Dean sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. He pulled away slightly from the girl he was dancing with. "That's because I don't go to Chilton. I go to Stars Hollow High."

"Why are you at the party, then?"

"My friend dragged me here," Dean responded.

"Who?"

"Jake," he pointed. He kicked himself for saying yes when this girl asked him to dance.

The girl looked over at Jake. "Oh. I didn't know you were like that. No wonder you seem all squirmy."

It took a moment for her words to register in his mind. "What?" When it dawned on him what she had meant, he shook his head wildly. "No! I'm not--I'm not--" He lowered his voice as a few people turned in his direction. "I just got over a bad breakup and he thought--"

"Say no more," the girl said. She smiled. "By the way, I'm Ashley."

"Dean."

"So, Dean, what are your--"

Dean stopped dancing suddenly, his eyes fixed on something--some_one_, rather-- a few feet away. Ashley looked up to see what had captured his attention.

"Oh, that's Rory Gilmore. I've never seen that guy before, though. Rory's really quiet, but she seems really nice."

She kept on babbling about Rory, about how good her stories in the Franklin were, but Dean tuned her out. All he could do was stare at Rory.

He had just seen her pull Jess over to her and then kiss him with much more passion than she had ever shown to him. Dean's heart fell and he tore his eyes away.

"I've barely seen Rory all day," Lorelai said to Luke.

"Well I haven't seen _Jess_ all day and you don't see me complaining."

"That's not fair. You said he could just stay in New York for all you care."

"True. Have you decided what you want yet? Brownie, donut..."

"Today's not brownie day. Hm..."

"There's plenty of other things to eat here," he replied, proceeding to name about ten things. "Anything sound good yet?"

"I don't know, I guess I'll just take a brownie."

Luke frowned. "You do this on purpose, don't you?"

"Why, what ever do you mean?" Lorelai responded innocently.

"I'll just get your brownie now."

Lorelai smiled as she watched Luke walk off.

__

"Lorelai."

Lorelai looked up. She glanced over her shoulder, but didn't see anyone looking at her. Deciding she had just imagined someone calling her name, she turned back around.

__

"Lorelai."

She spun around again and saw Miss Patty staring at her. She motioned Lorelai over.

"Uh, hey Patty."

"What do you think of Luke?"

"Wha...ah, what?" Lorelai stammered.

"I asked him what he thought about you."

"Oh _geez_, when will everyone just leave this alone?"

"Come on. This is the most exciting thing in Stars Hollow. What else would we do for fun?"

"What, you mean other than pretending Luke and I like each other?"

"Who's pretending? Lorelai, darling, don't tell me you don't see it?"

"See what?" Lorelai asked stubbornly.

"Luke is in love with you."

"He is _not_," Lorelai protested, lowering her voice, "in love with me."

Miss Patty clucked her tongue. "Denial. You're in denial."

"I'm going back over there now."

Lorelai walked back over to her stool at the counter just as Luke came back with her brownie.

"Here you go," he said.

She said thanks and glanced over her shoulder. Miss Patty was still watching her. She pointed at Luke and mouthed 'Ask him'.

Luke looked up and frowned as he noticed Miss Patty. "What's with her?"

"She's _confused_," Lorelai replied. After a moment of indecision, she finally decided to just do it. She was going to ask Luke to dinner. Then maybe everyone could just stop bothering the both of them. At least for now.

"Uh, Luke?"

"Yeah?" he answered, not looking up.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Well, working. And--no, that's pretty much it."

"Well I was thinking maybe you wanted to do something?"

Luke glanced up. "Like..."

"Like, I don't know, dinner or something. Just for a change of scenery."

He looked confused for a second, but he found himself nodding. "Okay."

"Alright. Good. Well I'm going to go home and wait for Rory to get home from her party." Lorelai said, in response to the nagging voice in her head that told her _'Get out while you're ahead'_.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," she confirmed, standing up.

Miss Patty shot Lorelai a meaningful glance as she made her way outside.

"Hey."

"Hey Tristan," Rory said with a sigh. "Nice party. Thanks for inviting us."

He nodded.

"So who did you come with?"

"No one. Just me."

"Oh. You should tell everyone that story you told me earlier. You know, the one you told me in the cab."

"Right. Maybe later."

"Tristan, did you invite Dean here? Because if you did, and you thought it was some kind of joke--it's not funny."

"Relax. I didn't invite Dean."

"But I saw his car outside."

"I don't know, all I know is he wasn't invited."

"Bag Boy the stalker."

"Jess, be quiet. Well, we'll catch up with you later, okay? I want to dance."

Rory dragged Jess over to where everyone was dancing. He pulled away.

"You didn't say anything about dancing."

"I thought I just did."

"I don't dance."

"It's easy, come on."

"I know _how_ to dance," he said with a smirk.

"Good. Then that makes my job a lot easier. Come _on_."

Jess let Rory lead him further into the crowd. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hesitantly placed a hand on her lower back. It was very awkward.

Rory told him to just relax, and he did a little, but it still felt forced. Rory wondered what was wrong.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

She glanced up and froze. There, about twenty feet away, and looking her way, stood Dean. Suddenly, Rory forgot where she was. All she saw was Dean, and she wanted to run over to him. She just wanted to be in his arms again. It felt weird in Jess's arms. Just...wrong, somehow.

"Rory?"

Dean took a few steps forward, to her, but then he stopped.

'Don't stop!' Rory pleaded silently. 'Come here!'

__

"Rory."

Rory subconsciously stepped away from Jess, pulling out of his arms. She flashed a welcoming smile at Dean, in a whole other place. She wasn't at the party anymore. She was in a large room. She and Dean were the only ones there.

"Rory!"

Rory snapped out of her daze and looked up. At Jess, not Dean. Her heart gave a painful thump and she wanted to cry.

"What?"

"You're staring at Dean!"

"I am n--" she started to protest.

"You know what, I'm going. Come find me when you're done obsessing over Dean."

"That's not fair--"

Rory didn't even get to finish her sentence. Jess had already walked away.

She gritted her teeth to keep herself from screaming after him.

'He _knows_ how long Dean and I were together. How close we were. He can't expect me to get over Dean in like a week! I broke up with Dean for him, for crying out loud. What else does he want from me?'

All I know is I am not chasing after him. He can just forget that.

Once Jess left, Dean had continued walking over to her. By now he was only a few feet away.

"Hey."

Rory smiled, her throat suddenly dry. "Hey," she managed to choke out.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Tristan appeared beside her again.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Rory asked, confused.

"Did Jess do something to you?"

"No, he--"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Dean demanded.

Rory could tell by his defensive tone that he was getting jealous of Tristan talking to her like that.

"I should ask you the same question," Tristan said dryly. "This is my party, and as far as I know, you weren't invited."

"Tristan--"

"I came with a friend."

"Dean--"

"Well you must have been _jumping _with _joy_ when your friend told you the party was for me."

"I didn't know the party was for you."

"A likely story," Tristan paused, glancing at Rory. She stared back at him blankly. "Oh, then you must have thought Rory would be here." He turned back to Dean. "Stalking is illegal, you know."

Dean gritted his teeth, opening his mouth to reply.

Rory put her hand to her head. What a nightmare! She wished she hadn't come to the party at all. Then maybe Jess wouldn't be mad at her, everything would be fine with Tristan, and she could just go back to avoiding Dean altogether.

She really blew this one.

Seeing Dean get all jealous again, Rory knew she could never have a long-term relationship with a guy like that. When she and Dean were going out, he was _always_ getting jealous for no apparent reason. He didn't like her to talk to Tristan or Jess, let alone be _friends_ with them. Even when, at the time, that was her only intention. In the long run, he had pushed her away. He didn't realize it, but by being so possessive all the time, he practically shoved her into Jess's arms.

Jess, on the other hand, let her make her own decisions. He didn't pressure her to break up with Dean at all. He kept his distance. Until recently, that is.

'God, what have I done?' Rory thought. She had to go find Jess.

"I'm gonna go," she said to Tristan.

"So soon?"

"Yeah...I'm kind of tired. Long day," she added, grinning at him.

He smiled. "I'll see you around...Mary." He leaned over, past Dean, and gave Rory a hug.

"Bye Tristan."

"Rory?"

"Bye Dean," Rory said, spinning on her heel and disappearing into the crowd.

'I hope that was the right thing to do,' Rory thought as she looked around for Jess. 'It's like I can't even tell anymore.'

A few minutes later, with no luck in finding Jess, Rory figured he had already left without her. She sighed, heading outside to her car.

"Where did you come from--did Rory drop you off?"

Jess stalked past Luke as he peered through the blinds of the window nearest the door.

"No," Jess replied simply, taking the steps two at a time and letting himself into the apartment.

Luke followed him. "Why, where's Rory?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask _Dean_."

Luke looked confused. "Why would he--" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Oh."

"Yeah."

Luke looked at his nephew sympathetically. Then he sighed and went back downstairs to lock up.

Jess fell onto his bed, yawning. He looked around for a good book to read before going to bed. His usual routine--he read for about an hour or so to get himself tired, then he went to sleep. Tonight, however, he was already unusually tired.

By the time Luke came back upstairs, Jess was fast asleep.

Lorelai frowned at the book she was trying to read. She couldn't concentrate on it; it looked like Gibberish to her. Finally she picked the book back up and threw it across the room, beside the TV. A small pile of books lay there, staring at her. She decided to ignore them and watch TV.

As soon as she turned the set on, however, she knew that it was hopeless, just like the books had been.

Lorelai's face lit up as she heard Rory unlock and open the front door.

"Rory, you'll never guess what--" she started, jumping up. She stopped and her smile faded as Rory walked into the room.

Rory's eyes were red. She fell into her mother's open arms, crying silently.

"Ror, what's the matter?"

"I'm a horrible person!" Rory mumbled into Lorelai's shoulder.

"What? You are _not_. What did Jess do? I'll kill that little--"

"It's my fault, not Jess's!" Rory cried hysterically. "Mine!" She started crying quietly again.

"Hun--"

"I'm too upset right now. I don't want to talk about it. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"You sure?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

Rory swallowed back her tears, giving her mother a small smile. "I'll be fine, really."

"Okay..." Lorelai gave Rory one last hug before kissing her on the forehead and heading up for bed.

Rory sighed, hoping the tears were over. She went to her own room and fell onto her bed, hundreds of disturbing questions and thoughts running through her mind. She slowly fell into a troubled sleep.

**__**

A/N:: Hi!! LoL ;) This chapter isn't the best, but...hope ya liked anyway. Please review!! It's much, much appreciated, hehe. And, oh, sorry it took sooo long to add!! I have the next chapter written but not typed...hopefully it won't take as long to get up, but I start school on Tuesday, so I really don't know. ;/ I'm gonna be a senior, go me!! HaHa just jokin'. Yeah, okay, anyway...lol please review. ;)


	13. Stay Away From Rory

****

A/N:: Hey guys...I just wanted to take the time and thank you all for the wonderful reviews!! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you guys like the story!! ;) And, wow...I don't like senior year so far...blah!! LoL, **JessNRory2003****--I hope you're having more fun than I am!! [Congratulations to you too] I've got TONS of work [I can't slack off this year like I have my previous years, hehe...I actually have to DO stuff this year...not fun. Plus I don't like ANY of my classes...But, blah, you guys don't care a bit, do ya?? HaHa I know--you guys just want the story!! Well here it is. Please review. ;)**

Chapter 12

Rory woke up early the next morning with a horrible headache. Feeling as if she weighed a ton, she gradually picked herself up and went into the bathroom. She glanced in the mirror and wasn't one bit surprised that she looked as bad as she felt.

"Great."

She filled up the cup sitting next to the sink with water and set it down. Then she snatched a bottle of aspirin out of the medicine cabinet and took two pills, forcing them down her dry throat with a big gulp of water.

She made her way into the kitchen and Lorelai looked up from the morning paper.

"Oh, good, you're up. The coffeemaker is not agreeing with me today. I think it would be better for our health going to Luke's." She paused. "Rory?"

"Mm," Rory mumbled.

"Want me to get it to go? You can just stay here--I'll bring you back a bagel, if you want."

"Yeah, thanks."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

"Hey Luke."

Luke looked up as he headed to the stairs leading to his apartment. He came back over to the counter. "Hey."

Lorelai sat down on a stool.

"Where's Rory? Still sleeping?"

"No, she's up. She's not feeling well, though. I'm just going to get two bagels and two cups of coffee to go."

"Okay. Hold on, Jess will get that for you. I have to do something."

Lorelai watched in half amusement, half confusion, as he hurried upstairs, shouting to Jess and nodding at Lorelai as he passed him.

Jess gave Lorelai an acknowledging nod, but he continued giving everyone coffee refills.

The phone behind the counter rang, and Lorelai glanced quickly around. Jess either didn't hear the phone, or he was ignoring it. She hurried behind the counter as the phone finished its third ring.

She quickly grabbed it. "Hello? Luke's Diner."

"Is Jess there?"

Lorelai jumped slightly as the girl on the other line loudly popped her gum into the receiver.

"Yes, he is. May I ask who's calling?"

"His girlfriend."

"Um...excuse me?"

"His girlfriend," the girl repeated impatiently.

"Does his girlfriend have a name?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Put him on."

"Sure, whatever. Hold on." Lorelai covered the mouthpiece of the phone with one hand. "Jess," she called.

He looked up. "What."

"Jess, you're _girlfriend_ is on the phone."

He raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what she said."

"Judging from your tone and that look, I'm guessing you're _not_ talking about Rory."

"You're guessing right," Lorelai said coldly.

Sighing, Jess took the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Lex?"

"Yeah?"

Jess turned his back to Lorelai. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Calling a friend? I miss you not being around. All the people here are so boring..."

"I mean, what are you doing calling me your boyfriend?"

"I was just joking, chill."

"I'm _trying_ to get with Rory. I don't need you calling and telling everyone I have a girlfriend."

"Rory? That boring chick that followed you here?"

"Yes, and she's not boring. And thanks to you, her mom is giving me the evil eye right now."

"Was she the one that answered the phone?" Lex asked innocently.

"What is your problem?"

"No problem," she said darkly. "But since you're in such a bitchy mood, I'll let you go. Later, love."

Jess slammed down the phone, causing a few heads to turn in his direction as he turned around. Lorelai was gone.

"Did you get coffee?"

"No, hun...Luke went upstairs and Jess...um, was still sleeping," she lied.

"Oh."

"Look, I'll try to get the coffee going again."

"Thanks Mom."

"No problem," Lorelai responded. Her eyes softened. "Are you ready to talk about it yet?" she asked lightly.

"No."

"Oh, okay then." Lorelai racked her mind for something else to say to make her daughter, her best friend, feel better.

"Are you working late today?"

"No. In fact...I'm getting off a little early," Lorelai replied. She opened her mouth to tell Rory about her date with Luke, but Rory cut her off.

"Great. Because I was thinking tonight could be movie night. Only comedies, though. Movies so stupid they're funny." She looked hopefully at Lorelai, who smiled in return.

"Sounds like fun," she said hesitantly. "I'll pick up some movies on the way home from work, okay?"

"Good," Rory agreed with a small smile on her face. She leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, and Lorelai narrowed her eyes, wrapping an arm protectively around Rory.

If Jess thought he could do this to her daughter and get away with it, he had another thing coming.

"Where did Lorelai go?"

Jess glanced up at Luke as he wiped the counter. "I don't know, _home_ I guess."

"Did you get her coffee?"

"Nope."

"Jess, I _told_ you--"

"I got a phone call. Lorelai left before I could get anything for her," Jess snapped.

"She just left? Without coffee?" Luke asked, clearly surprised.

"Yeah."

"Did she get it herself while you were turned around?"

"No, the cups were behind me."

"That's weird. Did she say anything?"

"No. Are we done here--can I go?"

Luke threw his hands up. "Sure. Go right ahead."

Jess grabbed his jacket and left the diner. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to do something. He couldn't be in the diner one more minute. On instinct, and quite possibly out of habit, he stopped a few minutes later, looking up at the familiar Gilmore girls' house.

He was about to walk up to the house, find Rory, and apologize about how he acted, when the door opened. Lorelai stood there, and as soon as she saw him, her eyes turned cold and guarded. She walked over.

"I don't know what you did, but I highly suggest you stay away from here for awhile."

"You can't just--"

"Oh, but I can. Stay away from Rory."

Lorelai walked over to her car and let herself in. She glared at Jess once more before speeding off.

Even though Jess wasn't exactly the one to follow orders, he sighed and kept on walking. _Past_ the Gilmore house.

Rory frowned, looking out the window. What was Jess doing here? She had an overwhelming urge to go run out to him, but she waited for him to make his way up the walkway. He stopped short when Lorelai came up to him.

'Uh oh,' Rory thought, leaning forward for a better look.

Lorelai said something and Jess's eyes narrowed. He started to say something, but she cut him off. Then she got into her car and drove off. Jess looked up at the house again, but turned around and walked away.

Rory stood up to chase after him when the phone rang. She contemplated on just not answering, since it couldn't be her mom, as she had just left about one minute ago.

A minute later she picked up the phone as curiosity got the better of her. "Hello?"

"Rory?"

Her face fell. Dean. What could he possibly want?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, hi."

"Hi."

"Can you meet me at Luke's? I want to talk."

"Luke's?" Rory sighed. "Dean, I don't think--"

"Please."

He sounded so helpless, so hopeful...Rory found herself agreeing.

****

"So."

"So," Dean echoed, looking down at his lap. Then he looked back up at her, almost expectantly.

__

What? Rory wanted to ask. _Why is he looking at me like that? He's the one that asked _me_ to come here, _he's_ the one that should be talking. I'm just here to listen._

"What did you want to talk about, Dean?" she asked in exasperation.

She kept glancing up at the staircase leading to the apartment upstairs, hoping against hope that Jess didn't come down and find her with Dean. So far, so good.

Although, she wasn't totally sure Jess was even upstairs. Maybe she should be watching the door, too. She just wished Dean would get whatever it was he wanted to say, off his chest and be done with it.

He apologized for the party, and she looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows raised. So he actually realized how jealous he had gotten--over nothing? She accepted his apology, and he smiled at her, relaxing.

A nervous look came across Dean's face just then, and Rory's face fell slightly.

_Please don't be doing that I _think_ you're--_

"I know I haven't always been the perfect boyfriend, but I think we can--"

"There's no 'we' anymore, Dean," Rory said softly, but firmly.

"But Rory--"

"Huh."

Rory's head snapped up just in time to lock eyes with Jess right before he headed outside. She groaned, turning to Dean.

"I have to go, sorry. I forgive you, but I can't...be with you anymore. I'm so sorry."

Dean just nodded. He looked a little mad, but his voice was void of emotion. He sighed and told her to go after Jess.

Rory leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, before hurrying out of the diner.

"Jess!"

Jess heard Rory behind him, but he didn't slow down. In fact, he picked up the pace a little. After a minute of running, Rory finally caught up to him.

"Stop!"

He ignored her, walking over to the one place in Stars Hollow that he didn't _completely_ hate, and sitting down. He dangled his feet over the water, enjoying the peacefulness.

That didn't last long.

Rory shoved Jess off the bridge and into the water. He came up, coughing and gasping for air. He glared at her. Rory, her hands on her hips, glared back. Then she turned and walked away.

****

A/N:: please review!! ;)


	14. Hey, Luke, Do You See Dead People?

Chapter 13

****

"Jess, where have you--" Luke stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes widening. "Why are you all wet?"

"I went for a swim," Jess said dryly. "Any more dumb questions?"

"Uh, no."

Jess nodded, stalking upstairs to change his clothes.

Luke frowned, staring after Jess. Lorelai came into the diner, Rory slowly trailing after her.

"Hey, Luke, do you see dead people?"

"Huh?" He spun around.

"Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Why's your floor all wet?"

"Uh, Jess just came through."

"Is that supposed to make sense, or are you leaving something out?"

Luke smirked at her. "He was soaking wet. Said he 'went for a swim'. I don't understand that kid."

He poured two cups of coffee and set them on the counter in front of the girls. Rory wrapped her hands protectively around the steaming cup, staring into the dark liquid moodily.

"She okay?" Luke asked, nodding at Rory.

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't think she's feeling well. She hasn't been talking since I came home."

"Oh. So when did you want to--"

"Ror, can you meet me outside in a sec?"

Rory glumly got up, without even tasting her coffee, and walked outside, no questions asked.

Lorelai turned to Luke, biting her lip. "Luke, I know we were going to go out to eat and stuff, but I don't think tonight's the best night. Rory needs me right now. I feel awful. I mean, we _could _still go out, but I don't think I--"

"Lorelai, it's fine," Luke said, cutting her off. She looked unsure, so he put on a smile for her benefit and insisted it was okay with him.

"We'll get a change of scenery some other time."

Lorelai smiled brightly. "I knew you'd understand. Rory...she just needs me right now," she repeated. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Luke nodded, watching her leave. His smile faded to a sad frown. Well, so much for that. He sighed, pushing the disappointment to the back of his mind and going back to work.

Jess slammed the apartment door closed, shivering convulsively. He went over to the window and glanced down at Rory, who had her back to him with her arms over her chest. She turned as Lorelai exited the diner and put an arm around her shoulders. They headed home and Jess moved away from the window, annoyed.

He didn't understand what right she and Lorelai had to be mad at him, when _she_ had been the one staring at Dean all night after claiming she was over him.

He shook his head, gathering some dry clothes and going into the bathroom to take a long, hot shower. He took off his drenched shirt and tossed it onto the floor, on top of a small pile of dirty clothes. It made a loud 'smack' sound.

Jess looked at himself in the mirror as he waited for the water to heat up. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He really did want to be with Rory, but he didn't want to be 'the rebound guy'. He had to wait until she was over Dean. He understood that she would never be completely over him--he understood that. But that didn't mean she had to stay obsessed with him forever, did it?

Jess finished undressing and stepped into the shower, the warm water soothing and calming him some.

He just wished Rory would think about this from his point of view.

"I have," Rory insisted.

"You have, huh?"

"Yes. But I still think some of his anger was misplaced. He was acting as jealous as--as--"

"Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Well from what you told me, you were kinda..."

"Are you taking Jess's side?" Rory asked, picking up the movie choices her mother had brought home.

"God no. I just...I think _maybe_ you should talk to him."

"I tried."

"Good. And?"

"And he ignored me, so I pushed him off the bridge into the lake. Not exactly the smartest move on my part."

"Woah." Lorelai was quiet for a minute. "At least that explains why he was all wet."

Rory didn't reply. She raised a movie in the air and Lorelai leaned over to inspect it.

"I think," Rory began, "I need to just forget about Dean, Jess, and Tristan, and basically guys in general."

"Hun, don't swear off guys _altogether_ now...Just don't rush into anything."

Rory stood up and put the video into the VCR. "I won't," she promised, grabbing the remote.

Lorelai opened her arms and Rory fell into them, leaning against her on the couch.

She pressed PLAY and they both got quiet as the movie started.

"Is Lane there?"

"Who is this?"

"Uh, my name is Dean."

"Lane no talk to boy on phone."

"I won't talk long. I just need to ask her--"

"Lane no date either. You Korean?"

"Um, no ma'am, but I didn't want--"

"Mama, is that for me?"

"No boys!"

Lane looked confused. "Henry?"

"Henry Korean?"

"Yes, mama, Henry is Korean. Is that him?" she pointed at the phone anxiously, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"No. Dean."

"Dean?"

"Yes. No boys!"

"Can I talk to him?"

"No."

"I don't like Dean, he's just a friend."

"Fine. Five minutes."

Mrs. Kim handed Lane the phone and walked off.

"Hi, Dean?"

"Your mother sure is...protective."

"Yeah. So what's up? I don't have much phone time."

"Oh. Actually..."

"You were wondering about Rory."

"Am I that transparent?"

"Well I don't see why else you would be calling," she laughed. "Nothing new, I haven't talked to her in awhile."

"Oh. What about that Chilton guy you--"

"Henry? No call from him, either."

"Oh. Well I guess I'll let you go before you get in trouble. Sorry for calling."

"It's fine, but next time disguise your voice."

Dean laughed. "It's a deal. Bye Lane."

"Bye."

Lane hung up, staring thoughtfully at the phone. "Huh." She immediately turned it back on and punched in a number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rory. You will not believe who just called me."

Jess shoved a comb through his hair, a little calmed down after his shower. He stilled wanted to talk to Rory, but now he wasn't so sure that she would want to talk to him. He had to try, though.

He went over to his bed and sat down, reaching for the phone. He dialed the number he knew by heart and waited for someone to pick up. Two...three...four rings. Just as he was about to hang up, someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hey--is Rory there?"

"No."

"She's not?"

"No," Lorelai repeated.

"Do you know where I could find her, then?"

"What did you want?"

"To talk to Rory. Didn't I say that?"

"Mom, is it for me? Is it Jess?" Rory called in the background.

"Rory, I don't think you should talk to him," Lorelai said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with both hands. Obviously not good enough.

"Huh? Why?" Rory asked. "I thought you were starting to like Jess."

"Yeah, but then he pulled a Jess."

"A what?"

"A Jess. You know, like on 'Friends', Monica pulls Monica's...Well, Jess pulls Jess's."

"You're weird."

"Why thank you."

"So what did he do?"

"I'll let him tell you that one."

"But you won't let me talk to him," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai frowned. "Good point. A smart one, you are," she said, handing Rory the phone. "I'll be in the kitchen. I'm going to apologize to the coffeemaker and maybe we can come to a truce and it will work."

"Okay. Jess?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry for pushing you in the lake."

"That's okay. It's become a favorite pastime of mine."

"It was kind of fun," Rory admitted.

"As long as _you_ enjoyed it," he said sarcastically, with a smirk on his face.

Rory grinned, switching the phone to her other ear. "I don't still like him, you know."

"Who, the Bagboy?"

"Who else?"

"I don't know."

"Okay. Are we good now?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Good. Well I've better get going..."

"Rory?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to do something tomorrow?"

"Sure, like what?"

"Maybe a movie or something."

"Sounds good."

"Good. Well I'll see you at Luke's tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye," Jess echoed, hanging up.

He fell back onto his bed, a smile on his face.

"So did you find out..."

Rory's eyes widened. "Oh, no, I completely forgot. Why can't you just tell me? I'm sure it's not that--"

"He's got a girlfriend."

"Bad," Rory finished slowly.

Lorelai sighed. "Ror, I--"

"Where did you get that from?"

"She called Luke's. This morning when I went to get coffee."

"Jess told you this?" Rory demanded.

"No."

"Luke?"

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

"I answered the phone because no one else was, and Luke was upstairs."

"And she just said 'Hi, I'm Jess's girlfriend'?"

"Hun, no, I asked who it was so I could tell Jess. She just said his girlfriend. Then Jess took the phone and started speaking real quietly, and--"

"But..." Rory trailed off, somewhat confused. "God, I can't believe this! It's probably Lex!"

"What's probably Lex? And who is Lex again?"

"Lex. The greasy girl from New York."

"Oh, that Lex."

"I want to talk to Jess."

"Ror, no. It's late--do it tomorrow. Or avoid him like you've been avoiding Dean."

"Ugh, Dean," Rory groaned. The whole Dean situation was really getting her stressed out. Now all she needed was to have a fight with her mother and everything would just fall _right_ into place.

****

A/N:: Alright, another chapter...woo-hoo. Sorry it's taken me so long to get it up, but with school and everything, I've only been able to type up a little bit at a time. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, wow I'm happy lol I gots 100 now!! Yay!! You guys are awesome. ;)


	15. Luke From Luke's Diner, That's Him

A/N:: you guys, I'm soo sorry it's taken me forever to get this chapter up!! I've had it written for ages... ;/ Please tell me what you think, b/c I need more motivation to finish this story...thanks.

Chapter 14

Jess woke up the next morning feeling better than he had in days. He smiled to himself, sitting up in bed. He thought about Rory, and about what he wanted to do that day. This would be their first official date. [He didn't count the party as a date since it ended so badly.]

He wondered what Dean and Rory did on _their_ first date. The thought of Dean, however, made Jess want to punch something. Or some_one_, rather. He hated the way Dean had treated Rory when they were going out. He was always jealous--always mad. A nagging voice at the back of Jess's head pointed out that part of the reason Dean had always been upset was because of him. He felt kind of bad about that, because Rory was the one that had to deal with Dean, not him. But then he thought about the time he outbid Dean on Rory's basket to win the lunch date with her, and it all seemed worthwhile. Even then, Rory seemed to enjoy _his_ company over Dean's.

He could be wrong, of course, but to Jess it seemed like Dean was just too..._boring_ for Rory. And even a little too slow. He couldn't always keep up, or take a hint, either. But it didn't really matter...Dean was pretty much out of the picture now. Rory made it _pretty_ clear that she would rather be with Jess.

He smiled again. [He just couldn't keep that damn smile off his face for some reason!] He got out of bed and took off his shirt. He was about to toss the pants, too, when someone knocked on the door. Raising an eyebrow, he strode over to the door and threw it open.

Rory stood before him, her eyes wide. She sucked in her breath. Before she could even say anything, Jess greeted her with a kiss. She resisted for a moment and Jess pulled back.

"Something wrong?"

She blushed. "No, what would be wrong?" she asked.

"You tell me."

"Well nothing. That's what's wrong."

"Rory?"

She swallowed, walking into the apartment. His eyes followed her as she walked over to his bed and picked up his shirt. She walked back over, tossing it to him. He studied her face, breaking eye contact just long enough to pull the shirt over his head.

"Rory--" he started.

She cut him off. "What did you want to do? Movie?"

"Uh...sure. You sure you're--"

"I'm fine."

Jess sighed, defeated. He nodded, following her downstairs.

"Luke, Rory and I are going to the movies."

Luke smiled at them. "Have fun."

He had always been all for a relationship between Rory and Jess. He thought Rory was a great kid, and he knew she'd be good for Jess.

They headed outside, and Jess started walking ahead of Rory.

"Hey, where are you going? The movies are that way!" Rory pointed behind them.

"I know."

"Where are you going?"

"To a place where we can talk."

"Michel, do you hear that?"

"What?" he answered, shuffling through a stack of papers on the desk before him.

"_That_. That ringing will stop once you answer the phone."

"Oh." Michel picked up the phone. "Independence Inn--" He paused, letting the person on the other end of the line talk. He checked the computer and wrote something down in the book in front of him. "Yes, thank you. Goodbye--yes. _Yes_. Yes, I--" Michel sighed in frustration. "Yes! No...Yes..._Goodbye_." He slammed down the phone.

"What was that?"

"What?"

__

"That."

"Nothing," Michel exclaimed, turning back to his work.

Lorelai turned her attention away from Michel as the entrance door opened and a man walked through. He glanced around until he spotted Lorelai and walked over.

"Chris!" she greeted.

"Lor, how's it going?"

"Fine. I'd ask you the same question, but I'm too surprised you're here. Is there a reason for this visit?"

"I'm here on business," he confided.

"In Stars Hollow?"

"Well, Hartford actually. I'm just down for the day. I decided to stop off at Stars Hollow for a bit."

"Oh."

"Where's Rory, school? Lane's? No one was home."

"Oh. She must have already gone to meet Jess," Lorelai mumbled.

"Dean didn't change his name, did he?"

Lorelai smiled. "No, I'm afraid I'm talking about a whole different person."

"So who's Jess?"

"Luke's nephew."

"Ah. Which brings me to my next question--what happened to Dean?"

"Dean's gone."

"As in--"

"No longer the boyfriend."

"Oh. Well, then, what's wrong with Jess?"

"What do you mean?"

Chris laughed. "I know you, Lorelai. From the look on your face, something is wrong with him."

"He's got a girlfriend back in New York, for starters."

"Oh. He and Rory aren't--"

"They are."

__

"Oh."

Lorelai smirked. "She pushed him into the lake yesterday."

"Nice..."

"Yeah." She smiled.

"I missed you, Lorelai."

"You say it like it's been years since we've seen each other."

"May as well have been."

Lorelai locked eyes with Christopher and felt her heart start to pound. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again. He still stared at her longingly.

"Chris--"

She was cut off by the shrill ring of the telephone. She glanced over her shoulder at the front desk, but no one was there. Michel must have taken his break.

"Hold on," she said, hurrying to the desk. She picked up the phone. "Independence Inn, this is Lorelai."

"Lorelai."

"Luke?"

Christopher looked up from the magazine he had just picked up.

"I, uh, was wondering if you wanted to try again?"

"Try what again?"

Lorelai could almost picture the ten shades of red Luke's face turned as he answered her. "Uh, dinner. But if you're too busy tonight--"

"Oh, no! Tonight's great. Pick me up at seven?"

"Sure. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Luke."

Lorelai hung up the phone, a smile playing on her lips. She looked up and saw Christopher looking at her again.

"What?"

"Luke...he's the one that owns the diner, right?"

"Luke from Luke's diner, that's him."

"You're seeing him now?"

"Um no. We--"

"It sounded like you were planning a date."

"Thanks for informing me about my private business."

Chris threw his hands out in front of him in mock surrender. "I'm sorry, you're right."

"No, it's alright. I'm just stressed out over this Rory-Jess thing."

"Uh-huh."

"I'll be back. I'm going to go check on Sookie, okay?"

"Go right ahead."

"What's there to talk about?"

"You tell me," Jess replied, sitting down on the bridge.

"That can't be your answer for everything."

"You start giving me real answers and I'll give you real answers."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Jess--"

"Yeah?"

"Uh, nevermind," Rory said quickly, averting her gaze.

"Rory."

"Huh?"

"What's wrong? Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

She didn't answer. Jess leaned over to kiss her, and she let him, but it was obvious she wasn't kissing back.

'What did I do?' Jess wondered, as Rory finally pulled away. 'Did I say something? Did Dean say something?'

"How are we going to get past this if you don't tell me what's wrong?"

An image of Jess kissing Lex like he had just been kissing her popped into Rory's mind, and she felt sick. She choked back tears. She had been waiting to be with Jess, and now that she was with him...She finds out he has a girlfriend? How nice.

"I..."

"Yes?"

"I want to go home," Rory said slowly, softly. Jess wasn't sure he'd heard her right.

"You wanna what?"

"Go home."

"But--"

"_Now_. I feel sick."

"Alright, fine."

Jess stood up and offered a hand to help her up. She stared at it for a moment before grasping it with her own. Jess pulled her up so fast she almost flew backward into the water. She wasn't so sure it was an accident.

They didn't say one word to each other the whole way home, until they were standing at her front door.

"I'm beginning to think I should just move back to New York. I don't need this damn drama in my life. It's a waste of energy." Jess talked fast, low, almost to himself.

Rory's head snapped up sharply. "You want to leave again?"

"Thinking about it," he muttered.

"So this is how it's going to be? Every time you get mad--you're going to just go to New York with your tail between your legs?"

"No," Jess said coldly. Rory reeled back from his tone, and the if-looks-could-kill expression on his face. "This time," he continued in a low voice, "I'm not coming back."

****

A/N:: hey...is it just me or is the story getting kinda corny & out-of-character?? Ahh...I need your reviews. I haven't had the...motivation??...to work on this story for a week or 2. I have the next chapter written, I think, though, and soon I'm going to *majorly* need your guys' help in where to go with this story and stuff. I've got a severe mental block!! ;/ Please review, thanks.


	16. But, Well Jess Is A Lowlife!

****

A/N: sorry if there's a bunch of typos, I didn't really check this chapter. Just didn't feel like it, I guess, lol ;) if you notice anything, kindly put it in yur review [if you review], please. I hope you like the chapter, please review!!

Chapter 15

"I can't believe Luke finally asked you out," Sookie said, shaking her head as she stirred the foods she was cooking.

"I kind of asked him out first, remember."

"I know, but it didn't work out, and now...Ooh! You're going on a date with Luke!"

"A little louder, I don't think Michel heard you, Sook."

"Oh, sorry," Sookie laughed. She put a hand on Lorelai's arm. "You're going to tell me everything, right?"

"Everything, definitely," Lorelai agreed.

"Great. What are you going to wear?"

"Um...I don't know yet."

"Is he going to dress up?"

Lorelai grinned at her friend. She looked so amused by this whole situation, it was funny.

"I don't know. Honey, I think you should get back to your cooking. I'll call you later."

"Ow!" Sookie ran to the sink, turning on the cold water full blast and putting her hands under the running water. "I'll talk to you later," she addressed Lorelai with a sheepish grin.

"Bye," Lorelai laughed, exiting the kitchen.

Luke, and everyone else in the diner for that matter, looked up as Jess came into the diner. He was yelling, well _arguing_, with Rory.

"What's the matter with them?" Miss Patty whispered to Luke.

He handed her a cup of coffee and frowned. "I don't know. Rory--are you okay? Jess, what's the matter?"

They both started talking at the same time, and Luke held up his hand for them to be quiet.

"Upstairs."

Rory followed Jess to the upstairs apartment. Luke told Caesar he was going upstairs, and everyone started whispering amongst themselves about the little scene that had just taken place.

Luke threw open the door and found Rory sitting on his bed, with Jess across the room picking up a book from the bookshelf and silently thumbing through it.

"Who wants to go first?" Luke asked.

When Jess didn't answer, Rory spoke up. "Jess is going back to New York. _Again_."

"Jess--"

"I never liked it here anyway," Jess declared. "Everyone always in your business--"

"Why are you leaving this time?" Luke asked.

Jess shrugged, looking quickly at Rory then back at his book.

Luke turned to Rory. "Rory?"

"He got mad because I'm mad."

"What are you mad about?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Jess said through gritted teeth, looking up from his book. Luke held up a hand to silence him.

"Rory?"

Her face turned pink. "He's got a girlfriend," she muttered. "And he didn't even bother to tell me."

"Jess?"

"Who said--oh." A look of realization came across Jess's face and he almost laughed. "Lorelai told you I had a girlfriend."

"As a matter of face she did. I'm glad _someone_ did," Rory replied pointedly.

"Even if it's not true?" he smirked.

"What?"

Luke watched them silently, feeling somewhat awkward, like he was eavesdropping or something.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"I...uh, oh," Rory stammered. "Well, look at the time. I've got to go."

"Rory!"

He was too late. Rory had already flew down the stairs.

****

"Ror? You home?"

Lorelai hung up her coat, walking into the hallway. The house was quiet. She said 'Hm...' and poked her head in Rory's room. She was sitting on her bed, staring off into space, with a dazed look on her face.

"Hey sweets."

Rory jumped at the sound of the voice. "Oh, hey. Did you just get home?"

"Yeah. Are you alright? I know this Jess thing has gotten you--"

"There is no girlfriend."

"What?"

"I blew up at Jess when he said he was leaving and I felt so stupid for being mad all this time when he told me he _didn't_ have a girlfriend, that I..."

"You what?"

"I just ran out of there. I feel so dumb, I'm never going to be able to talk to him again."

"Of course you'll be able to talk to him."

"Eventually," Rory relented.

"Eventually is now. I invited him and Luke over."

Rory groaned. "Tell me you didn't."

"Okay, I didn't."

"You did?"

"I did."

"Okay, well you can call them back and--"

"No, see, Luke and I aren't staying."

"I don't get it."

Lorelai told Rory about how Luke called her up and asked her out. She left out the part about her asking him out first. Rory beamed.

"This is great! You deserve this, Mom."

"What, Luke?"

"A date. With a normal guy that you already know and like--"

"Alright," Lorelai said, laughing. "Stop there, _please_."

Rory gave her mother a hug.

"I still don't see why you invited Jess, if you and Luke aren't staying," she murmured into Lorelai's shoulder.

"You don't, huh?"

"But, well...Jess is a lowlife!" Rory said lamely. She would have said anything to get her out of this--being alone with Jess--but it was inevitable.

Lorelai burst out laughing, digging into her purse. She handed a small bottle to Rory.

"Then keep this pepper spray with you at all times and remember--_just say no_."

The doorbell rang and Rory looked pleadingly at Lorelai as they walked over to the front door. Lorelai threw it open and greeted Jess and Luke with a smile.

"Hey."

"Hey," Jess responded, walking into the house past Lorelai and standing next to Rory.

Luke nodded at Lorelai. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure. Just hold on a sec."

Lorelai turned to Rory. She gave her a knowing smile, planting a kiss on her forehead. With a quick hug, she said goodbye, and they were off.

Rory watched the door close before her. She kept staring, as if willing it to open, but of course it didn't. Jess suggested they go into the living room and Rory reluctantly agreed, leading the way.

Jess, noticing by her quietness that she was embarrassed about what happened earlier, decided not to say anything. He grabbed the TV remote and started channel surfing, hoping she would relax a little.

Rory stole a glance at Jess and looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. She smiled, leaning back and watched TV.

"Where are we going?" Lorelai asked.

"Where do you want to go?" Luke returned, glancing at her before turning back to the road.

"Hm. Al's Pancake World?"

"What about this place?"

He pulled into a parking lot of some random restaurant and Lorelai shrugged.

"As long as it has food."

They got out and walked to the front doors in companionable silence. Neither of them spoke until they were seated at a cozy little table-for-two in the back of the restaurant.

"This is kind of nice."

Luke looked up from his menu. "What is?"

"This. This restaurant, this night, being on a date where there's absolutely no strings attached, nothing expected to happen...Am I sounding totally crazy?"

Luke, who had tensed at the word 'date' and frowned a little at her declaration, nodded. "Uh, yeah. It's...nice."

Oblivious to Luke's sudden discomfort, and maybe even disappointment, Lorelai picked up her menu and proceeded to look it over.

As the end credits to Gilligan's Island rolled across the screen, Rory looked over at Jess. Her had his head on his arm, and was fast asleep. Or so she thought.

Rory stood up and went to turn off the TV, seeing as how Jess was laying on the remote. She turned around and jumped back nearly a foot, her heard racing. He stood before her, clearing awake and, well, not sleeping, obviously.

"Hey."

"Uh, hi."

A silence settled over them again, and Rory bit her lip.

"Look, Jess, I'm sorry about--"

"I know."

"Oh, good."

Silence.

"So, uh...What do you want to do now?"

Jess looked around and the empty house and smiled, catching her eye. Rory began to feel nervous, and her palms started to sweat. She swallowed, licking her lips.

"Well?" she asked finally.

"You want to read?" he asked.

Rory relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. She laughed, gesturing to her room. "I'd love to," she grinned.

He smiled back, disappearing into her room. Rory laughed at herself, shaking her head and following after him.

****

A/N: I'm not sure I'm liking where this story is going. I'm not getting much feedback anymore, and I really need help on this one...I don't know where to go with this, I only have a page more of this story written and I've got a huge mental block. Anyone care to help me?? If not, this story might be on hold for a little bit until I can catch up in my classes that *cough* I've been slacking off in...and until I can come up with more [preferably good] ideas...Anyway, to anyone still reading this [thanks, lol], any ideas?? E-mail them to me. And is this story getting kinda corny to you, or no?? It seems to me a *lot* different than when I started it. Hm...I don't know. Oh well, at least it didn't take me 2weeks to put up this chapter!! Yay for me, thanks for reading all this lol please review.


	17. Are You Saying I Have Bad Breath?

A/N: well, here we go...this is the final chapter of 'Mixed Emotions'. ;) you guys seem to be getting bored with it [and apparently like my new literati better?? hehe] and, to be honest, i am kinda bored with it as well. i feel like i've gotten out of character, some, and...well the story's just not going how I hoped it would. Anyway, those of you who like 'CoffeeJunkie02 meets NYer02' better will be happy to know that this story is officially over. I'm expecting some reviews for the final chapter, please don't disappoint me--you guys rock. ;) 3 Kimberly

Chapter 16

"This doesn't even look edible," Luke said, poking at his food with his fork. Something that fairly resembled some sort of bread caved in, and he put his fork back down, looking at Lorelai.

She picked up her own fork and sniffed the food on it. Putting on a brave face, she put it in her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she brought her napkin to her mouth, spitting out the food. Her face turned a not-so-lovely shade of green.

"That was--"

"Not good?"

"Very not good."

Luke stood up and Lorelai followed. He tossed some dollar bills on the table and they left.

Lorelai once more suggested Al's Pancake World as they headed out to the car.

"Fine," Luke agreed, slipping behind the wheel.

'A real gentleman,' Lorelai thought, rolling her eyes as she opened the passenger side door.

Luke drove to Al's Pancake World and parked. They got out and Lorelai had a weird sense of déjà vu as they walked into the restaurant and were seated.

"So," Lorelai said, opening her menu.

"So."

"This is nice."

"You said that earlier."

"I know. I'm just starting up the conversation, though. Work with me here, Luke."

He grunted in response, opening his own menu.

"So _this_ is Luke Danes on a date," Lorelai mused, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Uh..."

"Don't get all squirmy, I was just teasing," Lorelai laughed. "So what do you think Rory and Jess are up to?"

"I don't know, but I hope they're not killing each other."

"I'm sure it wasn't _that_ bad..."

"I had to make them go upstairs."

"Hm. Rory didn't say it was that bad."

Luke just nodded. Lorelai sat there thoughtfully for a minute. Then the waiter came and they gave their orders.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked as the waiter walked off.

"Yeah."

"How come we haven't gone out before?"

Luke nearly choked on his drink. He coughed and set the glass back down on the table. "I don't know."

Lorelai smiled at him, and he found himself smiling back.

"Time to switch," Rory announced.

Jess handed her his book and she gave him hers. They had been switching books back and forth about every ten minutes or so, for the past hour. It was hard to follow, because they were reading from where the other one left off, but it was interesting.

"Did someone die?" Rory cried. "Who died!"

Jess laughed. "The son died."

"Aw."

Jess shut his book and looked at her, his eyes fixed on hers.

Rory's face grew hot and she laughed nervously. "What?" she demanded.

"You really thought I had a girlfriend?" he wanted to know.

"Please can we talk about something else?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he leaned over and kissed her. This time she didn't resist. She kissed him back and gave him a hug, pulling him even closer. Her heart was racing, and she felt like she was floating. She was experiencing so many different emotions, she couldn't think straight.

All she knew was that _this_ time, it didn't feel strange being in his arms. She felt protected, as she would be for many days to come.

"Can we go back to the diner for coffee?" Lorelai asked as she and Luke left Al's Pancake World.

"Too much coffee can kill you, you know."

"I'll take my chances."

"And it rots your teeth, turns them yellow, and gives you bad breath," he said matter-of-factly.

"Are you saying I have bad breath?" Lorelai demanded.

Luke's face turned pink, but thankfully the night's darkness hid it well. "What? No, I--"

"Yes you were, don't try to take it back. You think I have bad breath. Rotten yellow teeth with bad breath. You're such a charmer, Luke."

He couldn't tell if she was joking or not, so he glanced at her and was relieved to see her smiling. He grinned back and pulled up to the diner.

The two of them got out and Luke went over and unlocked the door. He opened it and went inside, turning on the lights. Lorelai passed him and headed straight to a stool in front of the counter. Luke slid behind the counter and started the coffee.

"Tonight wasn't so bad, was it?"

Luke looked up. "No, it wasn't," he answered.

"Maybe we could do something again next week. You know, for a change of scenery again," she added with a shrug.

Luke nodded, nearly dropping the coffeepot in his hands as he walked back over.

Lorelai grinned, watching him pour her coffee.

"Luke, how come you never asked me out?" she wanted to know, searching for a _real_ answer this time.

He swallowed, averting his gaze. Lorelai lowered her head so he had to look at her. He reluctantly looked her in the eye and she waited for an answer.

"I didn't know you wanted me to," he said finally.

Lorelai sighed, smiling at him. This time he didn't smile back. He was looking at her intensely, and she wondered if he was about to kiss her. It sure looked like it. He looked unsure, though. Like he didn't know whether to press his luck or not.

In the end, Luke finally tore his eyes away.

"I should get you home."

Lorelai, slightly disappointed, nodded. "Right."

They got in Luke's car and headed for the Gilmore house.

****

**the next day**

Lorelai walked into the diner the next morning, casually glancing around. The place was nearly empty. One person sat at a table by the window, reading the newspaper, and another person sat at the counter. Luke glanced up and caught her eye. He flashed her a half-smile as she walked over.

"Hey Luke."

"Hey."

"Can I get some coffee?"

"That stuff'll kill you one of these days."

"At least I'll die happy," Lorelai replied.

Luke grabbed the coffeepot and filled a cup with coffee, pushing it over to her.

"Enjoy."

"I will," she smiled.

Miss Patty came into the diner just then and greeted everyone.

"Hey Patty," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, darling, where's Rory?"

"Oh, she and Jess left earlier. I think they're sitting on the bridge."

"Jess? But didn't those two--"

"They made up, Patty."

"Oh, well good."

Lorelai nodded. She turned back to Luke as Miss Patty sat down.

"Luke, something you said last night bothered me."

"What did I say?"

"Well, when I asked you how come you never asked me out, you said you didn't know I wanted you to."

"Yeah..."

"If I hadn't asked you out first, would you have said anything to me?"

Luke swallowed and took a deep breath before answered. "Eventually," he told her.

"Really?" she looked somewhat surprised by his answer.

He nodded, walking around the counter to give Miss Patty some coffee. He didn't notice how blatantly she was staring at them.

Luke walked back over to Lorelai and she stood up.

"Luke, there was something else..."

"Which is?" Luke leaned over and set the coffeepot on the counter, giving her his full attention.

Before he even had a chance to process what was happening, Lorelai leaned over and kissed him. She pulled back a few seconds later and looked at him, but he leaned forward and kissed her again. He wrapped his hands around her waist, and Lorelai's hands floated up to his neck, pulling him closer.

Just a few feet away, Miss Patty sat with her jaw dropped. Once she recovered from the initial shock, she took out her cell phone and started rapidly dialing everyone in town she knew. Soon there was a crowd in front of Luke's diner, everyone peering through the window.

Lorelai and Luke, oblivious to the one-act play they were starring in, were still locked in each other's embrace. They pulled apart and Lorelai leaned against him, watching all her friends watch_ them _from outside the diner.

Luke grunted and started to move to do something about the crowd, but Lorelai pulled him back and they got lost in each other's eyes again. They were, once again, the only ones in the room.

They kissed again, and cheers were heard all around. The whole town, it seemed, had pressed themselves up against the window to get a better look. Their cheers and whistles were almost deafening, but Lorelai and Luke hardly noticed. They were lost in their own little world.

**** __

-THE END.

A/N: please review!!


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